A Modern Nemo 27

The North Korean ran in panic. He was lost, lost in a place far removed from his homeland. Exhausted and trembling, he slumped into a chair at an outdoor coffee shop.

"Are you lost?" said a voice.

He started. Turning to his left, he saw a man -another Asian- sitting at the table; a cup of coffee was in his right hand and a newspaper was in the other. This man was the same height as him and wore dark glasses, a  wide-brimmed panama hat and white clothes: an unbuttoned shirt, tank top and trousers.

Kim Nam-ha was stunned. He thought only he and the others in the fleet were the only foreigners around. He wanted to leave, but felt compelled to stay.

"You're travelling with the Green Oceans fleet, I see," the man continued, noting Kim Nam-ha's ID.

"Yes, sir."

"Are you on vacation?"

Kim Nam-ha was nervous. Adapting to life at sea was stressful enough. Dealing with another foreigner just added to it. Sensing the distress, the stranger motioned a waiter to bring over a glass of retsina.

Tasting the wine was an exciting experience for Kim Nam-ha; he had never tried grape wine before. He began talking at length about his ordeal; how he escaped North Korea, getting his hands on Konstantiniadis' book, and wanting to live freely. And now he was lost. He had no idea how he would get back to the port.

The other man listened and smile all this time. Kim Nam-ha, his face now flushed (that was a pretty strong retsina,) ran out of steam. Depressed, he slumped forward. "But now I don't know what to do," he said. "I don't know this place and I can't think of what to do next... or where to go."

"That's easy," said the other man. "I can take you back to the pier."

"You can?" Kim Nam-ha started, his eyes wide.

"Sure," said the man. Rising, he placed a pair of SS bills on the table. "Keep the change," he said to the waiter.

"Follow me," he said, motioning to Kim Nam-ha and started walking. As Kim Nam-ha followed his new benefactor, the waiter approached the table to pick up the bills. His eyes widened at what he saw. It was enough to buy a small TV set.

"Where do you come from?" asked an astonished Kim Nam-ha. The money he saw wasn't European.

"Why do you want to know?"

"I've never been out of my country before," replied Kim Nam-ha. "And we're in Greece. I've never traveled before and I-"

"You're not comfortable meeting different people?"

"No, it's just-"

"It's alright," said the stranger reassuringly. "I had the same problem. But now I travel a lot. My work takes me places, and your time at Green Oceans will as well."

They had been going a short distance when Kim Nam-ha became even more uncomfortable. "Excuse me, sir," he said. "But are you sure we're going to the pier?"

The man pointed upward. "Look up," he said.

Kim Nam-ha looked up and saw the  bow of the Embark. It glistened in the afternoon sun, and even though it was still quite a walk, the figure of the huge ship was still a sight to behold. Kim Nam-ha gasped in amazement. "Thank you, sir!" he exclaimed, running past the stranger.

As he neared the port gate, he almost forgot one thing. "I'm sorry, I just remembered," he said turning around. "What's your name?"

"It's Drake Forest," replied the stranger.

"Thank you, sir!" cried Kim Nam-ha, "Thank you Mr. Forest!"

Drake Forest turned around and waved as he headed back to town.

A Modern Nemo 26

Eric, Peter, Leon, Cyrus, Makoto, Ethan and Lorenzo were in the study of Ong Manor. This was the same room the where taipan and the cardinal regularly played chess. They had dinner at the manor with Eric's family and afterward, Christine had gone to bed, Linus and Laurie went to their beach house.

The taipan, the cardinal, Leon and Ethan were at the Mahjong table, playing Mahjong. Makoto was playing billiards with Lorenzo while Cyrus was drinking coffee at a nearby coffee table.

Peter sat opposite Eric, while Ethan sat facing Leon. They were playing Hong Kong Old Style Mahjong -and the game was getting pretty tense as no one seemed to be winning.

Cyrus' phone rang. It was Maximilian. "What is it, man?" asked the younger brother.

"Are you with dad?"

"Yeah, but he's got company."

"Well, I need to talk to him."

Cyrus put his mug down and went to the mahjong table. Everybody there was growing rather agitated. Eric had used up all his cigarettes and was glancing nervously at the other players. Ethan was smiling but sweating. Leon was looking at his tiles and trying to figure out whether to pick a tile from the wall or discard one in his hand. The stone-faced cardinal seemed unmoved -until one could notice that his hands were frantically rearranging his tiles.

"Dad," Cyrus whispered in his father's ear. "Maximilian wants to speak with you," and he handed Eric his phone.

"Yeah?" asked Eric as he took the phone from Cyrus. He was very uncomfortable having to make such a receive such a call while playing a game that turned into a nail-biter (lowest score would host a buffet for the other players at the city's most expensive restaurant.)

"Konstantiniadis isn't just building a fleet of ships for his own sea-spanning nation," replied Maximilian.

"So what is he up to?" muttered Eric, as he glanced at the other players. The tension was already so high, they had been playing for almost four hours with miserable scores. It was decided to have a final round.

"I don't want this tile..." Ethan mumbled as he dropped a One of Dots onto the table. Peter snatched it and dropped a Seven of Characters as Ethan picked another tile from the wall. Leon threw in a concealed tile and drew another one from the wall.

"Konstantiniadis is building something at sea," continued Maximilian. "A city that can move across the ocean and control international trade."

"That idea's kinda far-fetched," remarked Eric as he discarded a tile without looking. It was eagerly snatched up by Ethan.

"It's true, dad," said Maximilian. "I got the files from Petrov."

"Petrov? Where is he now?"

"He didn't say, but what he sent is definitely Green Oceans material."

"I call," said Leon. "Somebody's bluffing here."

"I'll catch you later," said Eric as he handed the phone back to Cyrus.

"Somebody better show his hand," said Leon.

Eric glanced at his hand. He had blundered throughout the game. His hand held a pung of 3 Bamboo, a pung of 2 Dots, a kong of 4 Characters, a 2 of Characters, a 1 of Characters, a 1 of Dots and a West Wind tile. He was East wind.

The cardinal  held a chow of 5 to 7 Characters, a pair of 1 of Dots, a pung of 2 Bamboo and an odd assortment of 3 of Dots, 3 of Bamboo, 2 of Bamboo, 2 of Characters and 8 of Bamboo.

Leon's hand held a pair of Red Dragons, a pung of 3 Bamboo, a pung of 7 of Dots a pair of 6 of Dots, an 8 of dots and a 7 of Characters. He chuckled. "Let's see what you got!" he said to Ethan.

Ethan sheepishly put down his tiles: a kong of White Dragons, a kong of his own wind (North) a pung of 1 Bamboo and a pair of flowers (Bamboo and Chrysanthemum.) "Sik," he mumbled.

Leon leaped to his feet, roaring in dismay. The cardinal landed face down in the table. Eric gaped at Ethan like a landed fish.

The Anthem

Anselmo: Taking a break from "A Modern Nemo." Here's the Ninth Symphony of Beethoven, the complete fourth movement, also known as the EOGC's unofficial anthem.

Lorenzo: Almost everybody in the EOGC territories loves this song... except the politicians.

Anselmo: Haha, yes. Oh, and this version's being sung by Japanese.

A Modern Nemo 25

Maximilian was in his office, going through all the files Petrov had sent him. He was practically so engrossed that his secretary had to go into the room because he didn't answer the phone. And when someone wanted to see him, he would nod his head, wave and continue reading the files while the visitor would go on and on with his or her ramblings.

There was something very disturbing about the files Petrov had sent him. Weapons were being purchased from former Soviet countries in Central Asia and were being smuggled through Russia, China, Afghanistan and Pakistan through Green Oceans' own delivery and shipping offices after being disassembled and placed in containers. But in some places, especially in remote places on the Russian Pacific coast, the ships were just waiting on the coast and were loaded. There was even an office created to pay out bribes to local officials.

These things, taken in isolation, did not faze Maximilian; neither was the sheer size and the type of weapons involved: attack helicopters, AK-47s, RGPs, surface-to-air and surface-to surface missiles and electronic warfare systems and point-defense weapons, to name a few. What really got his attention was a folder entitled "The Agenda."

As he pieced the information in contents of the folder's files together, an image was building in his mind: Konstantiniadis was putting together a vast armada that would claim the seas as its pond and turn the seas into his own country. That would be bad for the whole world.

He never left his office the entire day and asked his secretary to bring him a cheeseburger meal for lunch. He never stopped reading the documents even though it was already six in the evening.

Justine arrived from Ong Manor at around ten. Maximilian's secretary had already left for home and Justine came to inquire why Maximilian hadn't come home yet.

"Hey bo," she said, walking into the room. "You haven't been answering any of our calls. What's up?"

Maximilian nodded but didn't say anything. His eyes remained fixed on the computer screen.

"Hey," she said again, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Oh, hey," replied Maximilian. His face still remained in front of the screen.

"What're you doing?" she asked.

"Working."

"But dad says there's nothing else to do today."

"Well, he doesn't, but I do."

"How important is it?"

Maximilian paid no attention until he came across a picture of a star-shaped city floating on the sea: a ship as big as a city, unconventional in design and sailing every sea in the world, claiming dominion over the waters. In the text, Konstantiniadis stated that he would ban international shipping and only his new creation, the Great Ocean Nation, would be solely responsible for protection of the seas' ecology and handle all maritime trade. A dangerous revelation was discovered.Commercial shipping would cease to exist and international trade would suffer, bringing about a global crisis. Wars would erupt and shake societies to their very foundations. Even the EOGC would be affected. Maximilian's eyes widened in horror. "Justine," he said. "Get me the phone. I'm calling dad."

A Modern Nemo 24

The wireless phone rang beside the bed. The girl awoke and picked it up. "Hello," she mumbled. "Who is this?"

"Oh," she said after listening. She turned and nudged the person sleeping next to her. "Hey," she said, "It's for you."

Maximilian opened his eyes. He put his glasses on and took the phone.

He was in his condominium unit with his girlfriend. Although his parents approved of their relationship, they did not approve of them sleeping together unless and until they tied the knot. Well, in Maximilian's opinion, that had weight if they were in Ong Manor. But this was his house; so the rules were his rules.

"Hello?" he said, sitting up.

"Mr. Ong," came Petrov's voice. "Can you go online right now? I have something important to send you."

"Alright," said Maximilian, "In a moment."

He hung up, kissed his girlfriend, who had just went back to sleep, and climbed out of bed. Then he put on a black brief and white tank top and headed for the living room.He sat down in front of his computer, turned it on and logged in. Patching into his chat with the camera on, he beheld an unusual sight.

Petrov's face was in the camera, he was covered with sweat and appeared to be moving back and forth in rapid succession. As Maximilian put the headset on, he could hear the sounds of panting and moaning.

"Hello Mr. Ong," said Petrov, breathing heavily. "I have been able to get some information on Konstantiniadis' plans."

"So what did you find out?" asked Maximilian.

"I'll send the over to you right now," Petrov replied.

A message with attachments appeared on Maximilian's screen.

"Have you received the package, Mr. Ong?"

Maximilian downloaded the attachments. There were several folders full of documents. "Yes, I have," he replied and saved them in a separate folder.

The moaning and panting was getting louder.

"Good," said Petrov. "Now I must get back to business."

He backed away from the camera and it was revealed that he was naked. His arms were holding something and were moving back and forth, as was his body from the chest down. He paused for a moment and lifted a head from below the camera; it was the face of an effeminate-looking blond young man.

"As you can see, I'm rather busy," Petrov continued.

The young man looked into the camera, smiled and waved a hand.

Unnerved, Maximilian closed the window and went offline. He thought of going back to his room for a moment. But he was tired. They had been up and about the whole night. Turning off the computer, Maximilian leaned back and fell asleep in the chair.

A Modern Nemo 23

The fleet arrived in Greece, the land of Konstantiniadis' ancestors, dropping anchor at Heraklion in Crete. Shoji and Chidori  decided to take the time and explore this new place. Chidori had been to Europe before, but this was a first for her. Her time in Europe had been spent studying in England.

As they walked the streets of Heraklion, Shoji noticed the North Korean constantly following them. It didn't annoy him. He's probably lost. he thought. Living in North Korea must be really hard on him.

But whenever he turned around, the North Korean would duck to the side and try to hide himself.

As the Japanese turned his head to look back, Kim Nam-ha threw himself behind a wall and cringed, his hands trembling. Did he see me? he thought anxiously. He remained there for a few seconds then leaned to peer at the couple.

They continued their walk. Kim Nam-ha detached himself from the wall and followed them.

Once again, the Japanese glanced over his shoulder.

Kim Nam-ha threw himself into the door of a bookstore. Looking through the window, he saw the couple continue on their way back to the port.

"Excuse me," said a voice behind him, causing him to start. Turning around, he saw a fat, middle-aged, man.

"Are you looking for something?" continued the man. "This is my store."

"No!" cried Kim Nam-ha, frightened. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Bowing profusely to the owner, he ran out of the bookstore blindly. After running for a while without a thought, he realized he was lost.

Shoji and Chidori returned to the port and were greeted with a new batch of arrivals. There was one group, about six of them from France, that actually approached him; they had heard of the speech he made.

"Hello, Shoji Kawamura!" said one of them, approaching Shoji with an extended hand. "I am Francois Moreau. My friends and I heard about your speech in New York!"

Shoji laughed and shook Francois' hand. "It's nothing, really," he said.

"We've come all this way here because we want to be free from the meaninglessness of living in our society," Francois continued. "The six of us here, let me introduce you; Andre, Louis, Raoul, Raymond, Suzette and Antoine."

He gestured to his friends, who greeted Shoji in turn. But Shoji noticed something. "Antoine?" he wondered. "I thought there were only six of you."

Francois laughed. "Of course," he said. "Antoine is still in France, but he will follow us in a few days' time."

"He's a Green Oceans information officer, like you," added Suzette.

At this point Chidori, who had gone back in the hotel with Simon, came running back to Shoji with Simon behind her. She was very excited. "Shoji! Shoji!" she cried.

She fell upon his left arm, wrapping her arms around it. "It's Sayoko!"

Sayoko was the woman who was with child.

"She's about to give birth!"

Meanwhile, in Paris, France...

All was quiet in the apartment building, all except for the sound of pleasurable, sensuous, moaning coming from behind one apartment door. This one had a plaque on it which read: Antoine Leclercq, Green Oceans.

Arkady Petrov sat up and lit a cigarette. He was naked and had been busy all day and all night. He looked down at his right, at the naked young man still lying down and high on cocaine.

"Well, that's that," he remarked. "It's a pity I'll have to waste you soon; you were great in bed and really cute. But I have a job to do."

A Modern Nemo 22

Shoji Kawamura woke up and turned to his right. Chidori was there, sleeping beside him. It had been three months since he made that speech. Now the two of them, along with Simon, the North Korean and the couple were at sea together with a host of others. In such a short time the bulk of the Green Oceans fleet had officially retired, including new vessels. The fleet was now in international waters and, withe other ships to join them in the coming months. In a few days, Konstantiniadis would arrive to inaugurate the new nation.

Life at sea was an exciting affair. Konstantiniadis owned a number of Caribbean resorts and his wealth and influence kept prying eyes away. Shoji and Chidori practically had the time of their lives as the fleet traveled the islands. They were now in the open ocean, heading for Europe.

Shoji sat up and climbed out of bed. He put on his white boxers and walked across the cabin to the porthole. Pushing the curtain aside, he beheld the vast, open sea. The morning sun was shining, casting its rays upon the waters; the sparkle reflected in his eyes. He smiled, and as his thoughts were turning to the possible challenges that would open up to him, he felt Chidori's right arm encircling his right shoulder.

He put right hand on her right hand, lowered his eyes and turned to his left as she put her left hand on his left arm.