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its seat in the
Regency.  And, worse, the physical similarities between Humans and furgs were unmistakable . 
Both were bipedal, upright-standing, with mostly hairless bodies, big skulls,
and flat, ovoid faces.  When compared to a computer-generated image of a
Neanderthal, furgs were almost identical, if only half the size.  Which, of
course, made it even harder for Fred to face his more-evolved peers with any
confidence or dignity.  So they were large furgs…
    “Representative
Mullich, if you need to bring tissues with you, I can arrange it,” the
Watcher said dryly.
    “Just give me a
moment to think,” Fred muttered, irritated.
    “Don’t think
too hard,” the Watcher replied…amused?  “I’m told you might rupture
something.”
    Fred narrowed
his eyes.  Not even the Watcher respected him.  The Watcher, who was
supposed to be an impartial mediator between all species, a personal servant to
every official on Koliinaat, insulted his intelligence to his face. 
    …and Fred knew
he wasn’t going to do a damn thing about it.  Knowing he was a chickenshit,
knowing the Watcher knew he was a chickenshit, Fred went back to
reviewing the documents in front of him, unable to shake the nagging feeling
that Earth was about to do something incredibly stupid.
    The numbers
bothered him.  A lot.  Earth had never wanted to join the vast alien Congress,
but like every other newly-discovered life-bearing planet, it had been given no
choice.  Now, even eleven turns after undergoing the mandatory sixty-three turn
trial phase and becoming a full member, Earth constantly tested the gray area
of Congressional laws, seeing how far it could go.
    And, as if
Fred’s job wasn’t hard enough, Earthlings—the petulant little shits that they
were—made no attempt to hide their disdain for Congress.  They were constantly
breaking trade agreements, stealing energy-pods, imposing sanctions, illegally
harvesting planets, and raising tariffs.  There were even whispers that Earth
had hired space-pirates to harass neighboring solar systems, a major offense
that usually brought with it three-sixths of probation and higher enlistment
quotas. 
    It was as if
they had completely forgotten why they submitted to Congressional rule in the
first place. 
    Fred’s written
and video-feed warnings never seemed to make an impact in the number of Earth’s
violations, either.  The furgs back at home considered his position ceremonial
at best and were oblivious to the danger of angering the Regency.  They had not
seen the devastation Congress could wreak upon a rebel member.  To them, Eeloir
and Neskfaat were just myths.
    Yet Fred had
taken the mandatory tours after each war.  He had walked the corpse-ridden
continents.  He had seen the slaver colonies, the factories, and the
work-camps.  He’d seen the misery, the unspeakable ruin.  He knew .
    As soon as a
planet went rogue, it was utterly crushed by the Ground Force and Planetary
Ops.  Once it had been crushed so thoroughly that it could no longer resist, it
became free game to the rest of Congress.  Anything on it could be exploited by
any enterprising species interested in claiming more land, free work, or
limited resources.  If Earth actually took the step and declared war, Fred had
no doubt in his mind that alien races, especially the slave-hungry Dhasha,
would set up trading colonies on Earth’s surface after the Congressional Army
wiped out all of Earth’s resistance.  It was no secret that the Dhasha had been
harvesting unlucky Humans for their breeding programs for the last seventy-four
turns.  They now had their own home-bred populations on dozens of Dhasha
planets, and illicit Human slaves were now in higher demand than Nansaba. 
    And, once again,
Fred was powerless to stop it.  That the Dhasha were enslaving free, sentient
species was quietly overlooked by Congress, because the Dhasha were the single
most dangerous species in Congress, even outstripping the Jreet due