Nadia - the Secret of Blue Water: A Chairman's Dilemma.



written by Jussi Nikander

<jussi.nikander@alien.nixu.fi>



Nadia is copyright by Gainax, not used under authorisation.

Please don't sue me, I don't have any money.



SPOILER WARNING!



This fic contains some spoilers for the ending of Nadia - The Secret

of Blue Water.



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Sighing, I look over the blueprints again. Gratan mark XXIV, the

greatest armoured fighting vehicle in the world. Actually, if you don't

count the previous Gratan-models, the only true armoured fighting

vehicle in the world. Easily match for more than a battalion of those

ugly metal monsters the English are building.



Letting out another sigh I push the papers aside and lift my gaze

enough to look Jean in the eye. "It's incredible, isn't it?"



He nods. "Yes, it is."



"I would make incredible profits selling these things, wouldn't I?"



He nods again. "I'm sure you would."



"What do you think I should do with this?" I ask, indicating the

papers.



He doesn't hesitate even for a second. "Burn them, all associated

papers and forget the whole thing existed."



I sigh, swivel my chair around and gaze out at the city of New York.

"Why?"



Again, the answer comes immediately. "Humanity has powerful

enough weapons as it is. We don't need monsters like the latest

Gratan. "



I wince at the argument. Still, being Nadia's husband, he's probably

been on the receiving end of hundreds of such comments.



I take a deep breath and throw in the only argument I can think of.

"Still, it being such a 'monster', wouldn't it help to bring this

incredibly bloody war to a quick end?"



"Probably, but what about after that? You couldn't take them away

after the war. It wouldn't be too long before countries rich and poor

had them. And when the next war broke out..."



He doesn't have to end the sentence. I open my mouth to reply

when he continues. "Or, alternately, if it stayed as one country's

monopoly, how long would it take for them to realise that nobody

can match them. How long, until a new Neo-Atlantis would be

born?"



I hadn't even thought of that. For a long time silence reigns in my

office. "And does the same apply for me?" I finally ask.



This time, Jean hesitates. "I... Yes, the basic principle is the same."



I close my eyes and let out a deep sigh. It seems that a lot of

Nadia's wisdom has rubbed off on Jean. I wonder if he realises just

how lucky a man he is?



Again, there is a long silence, which he finally breaks. "Was there

anything else?"



"No. No, there wasn't. Please tell Nadia we'll be coming at the usual

time."



After Jean's departure I sit there for a long time, looking out at the

city around me. Finally I light a cigar to fight the nervousness that

threatens to overwhelm me. I'm a businessman, I should be making

profit. Still, what happened in the year 1889 showed me what too

much ambition combined with advantaged technology can cause.



I sit there for even a longer time, rolling the box of matches over

and over in my hand.



fin.



The longer I'm in the armed service, the more I learn to hate wars

and warfare.



This happens in the same continuum as An Illusion of Peace, only a

a few years later. Jean and Nadia have fled the war and the French 

government which wanted Jean to work for them in R&D to USA. (probably

with the assistance of their comrades from the days of Nautilus)



The main character is, of course, Hanson, the shorter of Grandis'

flunkies...