[b]Golden Lady, Part Three, The Agriculturist, Part Five[/b] Aurelia dreamt of money. Money made the world go round; money measured success and ambition. Money was the mark of someone who had succeeded in their goals. But if given the choice, she would give it all away if it meant resetting the game, making [i]more[/i] money from a low position and defeating another ladder of enemies; competent enemies who were there to make things more fun. As she woke up and called for a servant to dress her, the latter part of the dream faded into wistfulness. The Contessa would not choose to be poor like Priscilla; [i]how[/i] did the latter measure success? Smiles and happiness were ephemeral; money and beautiful things were forever. But she had to admit it, the Lady President was successful in what she did, an equal in ability. Aurelia respected that like few others of her class had. Once dressed, Aurelia took out some papers from her desk; a bill of transfer that would give up the bulk of the planes she had bought from Rhodesia to the Philippine Air Force; the latter's planes were obsolete models not fit for the fairly good pilots that manned them. Of course, she would keep the best aircraft for herself and her plantation, including a lavish private plane that she can use to take official 'diplomatic trips' to The West, where she needed to build up support for the Special Economic Zones that would make her expenditure on the New Philippine Electronic Grid break even. She hadn't forgotten about her election promises; her ancestors broke deals with their inferiors without a second thought. While Aurelia did think they were entitled to such behavior, it was still stupid for them to do such things and it would be stupid for her to break her vow now. The Golden Lady looked at the window outside, appreciating the sunrise. Priscilla had been known to do the same when she wasn't a workaholic. One of the few things they had in common. As another servant entered in, the Contessa would say as she turned around to face him, "What is it?" Both she and the servant knew the answer, but the latter confirmed it anyway, "It's the Agriculturist, Archibald Santos. He's here to see you." Aurelia's reply was, "Has he changed to something decent? It would be shameful if he looked like a...farmer instead of a scientist." The servant bowed deeply and said, "He's changed to better clothing, Contessa. But, if I am allowed to ask; what do you need him for? You already got some of his Ethiopian grain." The Golden Lady smiled, "Why, we're giving each other gifts; Science needs grants, after all." ------ Aurelia was delighted by Archibald Santos' gift; the latter had even changed to proper scientists' wear to present it! Said gift was illustrated on a piece of engineering paper, which contained a very simple blurprint that even she can understand; not that she was stupid, of course! "A wooden windmill built from scrap that powers a crude dynamo of copper wire, iron, and rubber that, with a car battery for storage, can power four lightbulbs or a radio. Why, this will bring light to rural villages in record time!" [i]And give me votes, also in record time.[/i] "But setting these up in multiple places all at once requires either the Government's help, or mine. And for some reason..." Aurelia trailed off, "You prefer my help. Why? Hasn't the Lady President given you enough?" Archibald Santos replied, "While it is true that I am a loyalist of the New Philippines Party till the end, the fact is that our Lady President is most understandably spending most of her money on Defense. The Military Appropriations Bill just got bloated, leaving less time for peaceful pursuits. True, I got to explore the idea of mushroom farming in tunnels; I even managed to write a thesis for it -" Aurelia cut him off, "So, like most scientific idealists, you don't want your discoveries used for dealing death when you would rather foster life. Understandable. Very well, grants given, or should we say...patronage?" Archibald nodded at that. ------ Once the meeting was done and Aurelia had eaten breakfast, she would then go back to her desk, where she would find more letters forwarded to her. The corrupt Worker Co-operatives in Subic had requested to be part of the new Special Economic Zones beign set up; Aurelia would allow them that...but signal her public break with them by allowing a provision in the bill to allow Youth League cadres to appoint 'permanent inspectors' to the Co-operatives with sweeping powers to interfere in their internal affairs. This gave her an opening to convince Priscilla to allow White Flight, a Rhodesian 'Private Piloting Academy', to set up shop in the Philippines as part of a clandestine 'pilot training program' that would improve the capabilities of the Philippine Air Force. If she talked right, White Flight might even be allowed a cut of the Military Appropriations Bill Archibald was complaining about...