Reincarnated in a New World and Brought “Democracy” with Me — Including 50 Abrams Tanks and the Aircraft Carrier Gerald R. Ford

For several days the estate lived in its usual rhythm, never returning to the box. Menni cooked in the kitchen all day, Sally and Margo fulfilled Mits's whims, and Mits spent all his time in his study, unwilling to go out into the world. For days on end he lay on the sofa, sipping wine and occasionally eating a piece of cold steak that was replaced with a new one daily. The story with the gunshot faded into the background, and no one planned to return to it. It was more familiar and comfortable to simply live as they had lived before — and not try to figure out or delve into the Duke of Malevych's problems. His war with the unknown state of the DS was his war — and Mits was already a citizen of Firkun and didn't want anything in common with the Duchy of Malevych.

"Good morning," — Menni waved with a smile, entering the estate through the back gate.

On the bench sat Margo and Sally, heatedly discussing something that made Sally spit with every word. Menni's face changed, and the smile slid off as soon as he crossed the boundary and found himself in the cocoon of Margo and Sally's argument.

"...Yeah, hey!!" — Margo waved her hand nervously. "— This is the future! A FUTURE UNKNOWN TO US!" — she quickly looked at Menni. "— Here, at least you tell her!"

Sally stared at Menni, breathing heavily.

"The smoke break's apparently over," — Menni quickly drifted into the house, trying not to even get into their argument.

"Well there you go!" — Margo proudly pointed at the departing Menni. "— That's what you do to people! You're afraid of the future!"

"I?!" — Sally jumped up, menacingly peering into Margo's eyes. "— At least I plan my life a couple of years ahead! And I'm not stupid enough to risk it for some 'unknown future,'" — Sally started mimicking and gesturing emotionally.

"Maybe that's exactly what's needed in life," — Margo stood up, coming right up close to Sally. "— To live! — a finger jab to the chest. — One! — jab. — Day at a time!"

"Then," — Sally grabbed her finger, "— become a leech and live one day at a time. But don't suck my blood — I want to know what awaits me in the future."

Margo yanked her finger free and stepped back.

"Then I will!"

"Then be it!" — Sally parried.

"But you'll still face that future!" — Margo snapped, trying to get through to Sally. "— The future is inevitable — and this future will be the one that changes the whole world," — Margo shouted from a distance.

"Blah-blah-blah," — Sally waved her hand. "— If I have to, I'll adapt — but not to you. To the future that comes," — with those words Sally flipped her hair and quickly went into the house.

"FINE THEN!" — Margo shouted into the empty doorway. "— I'd rather be aware of the future than have it punch me in the gut!" — she shouted across the whole estate, making the birds stir in the trees.

—

Menni stood in the kitchen, lazily tossing firewood into the stove while nimbly chopping onions — and on the frying pan lay a steak, waiting for the stove to heat up. He heard Margo shouting outside — absolutely everyone in the house heard her — but no one wanted to get involved or consider her right. Menni immersed himself in work, quickly finished with the healthy food, placed the tray on the serving window, and already started cooking the steak — because he knew the healthy food would fly to the floor instantly, and there was no point in thinking the steak wouldn't be needed.

Sally entered the kitchen and, without contacting Menni, took the tray of healthy food. Menni watched her go and returned to work. Calmly took out a pot and put it on the stove, filling it with water. Sat on a chair and looked out the window at the trees and birds hopping from branch to branch, singing something under their breath in their bird language. On autopilot, he peeled potatoes without looking away from the birds, thinking.

His thoughts flowed in a fast wave, trying to systematize and classify that very future Margo talked about. The water was already boiling, running out of the pot, filling the ceiling with moist steam that settled on the plaster, forming large droplets that slowly dripped to the floor.

Finishing the potatoes, Menni threw them into the pot and started making salads. After all, the staff's lunch would be soon. And his eyes caught the steak that still hadn't been taken. He sighed displeasedly and looked at the doorway.

"STEAK!"

Quick footsteps sounded from the house, and Sally ran into the kitchen, adjusting her shirt.

"Um..." — she smiled. "— And who asked you to cook it? Mits ate the healthy food," — she leaned on the serving table and looked at the shocked Menni.

"We'll deduct the steak from your salary," — Sally added and slapped the table with her hand, going back into the house to do her tasks.

"Tch!" — Menni tossed an onion displeasedly.

Menni sat at the table and started slowly eating the steak — he'd already paid for it from his salary anyway. Margo burst into the kitchen like a storm and jumped onto the serving table, settling in more comfortably next to Menni.

"Hi," — Margo started from afar and took a fork from the box.

"Mmf," — Menni answered, chewing.

A second fork attacked the steak, biting in, trying to tear off half.

"Hey!" — Menni protested, hitting her fork with his. "— What do you want, crow? Anyone can come freeloading — I paid for it."

"Uh-huh," — she tossed the fork into the sink.

Menni watched the fork quickly cross the whole kitchen and fall into the sink. Returning to the steak, he discovered it missing along with the plate — and Margo's face was covered in drops of fat and sauce.

"Tch! Well thanks!"

"Mhm," — Margo swallowed a huge piece of meat. "— So what do you think about the future?" — she asked, wiping her face with the back of her hand.

"Well..." — Menni got up from the table, heading to the pot of potatoes, slowly stirring it.

Margo fixed her gaze on him, waiting for his answer.

"That I'll be paid a couple gold less," — Menni answered calmly. "— For your filling breakfast, by the way," — he reproached Margo.

Margo blinked, clearly expecting a different answer.

"No, I'm not about that," — Margo crawled to the other side of the table and jumped into the kitchen. "— I'm about the pistols and the DS."

"I don't know what that is," — Menni closed the topic, focusing on chopping vegetables.

"You do know!" — Margo snatched the knife from his hands. "— And I want to know your opinion. Are you really like Sally?"

Menni took another knife, not falling for Margo's provocations, and continued chopping vegetables.

"If that's a compliment, then yes," — he glanced at her. "— If it's an insult, then no."

Margo drove the knife into the countertop with all her might and grabbed the second knife, which clattered as it landed next to the first.

"I'm not about that!" — she snorted, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "— We should be in the front ranks of the new era."

"We?" — Menni raised his eyebrows in surprise, pulling the knives back out. "— You're the only one worried about this."

"That's the problem!" — she pushed the cutting board away from Menni, not letting him chop and dodge the topic. "— Why can't you understand the seriousness of the situation??"

"I ca—"

"Don't interrupt," — Margo started pacing back and forth. "— The DS is an unknown state at war with the Duchy of Malevych — and we know little about it. But if you dig deeper..."

"Dig in your head first."

"Why are you such a wimp?!" — Margo leaned in, her hair touching the back of Menni's head as he sat. "— If we know our enemies by sight, we're one step ahead. And if we know how to use their items — then two!"

Menni stepped away toward the sink, turning on the water.

"And if we breathe the same air as them, we'll be three steps ahead!" — Menni responded skeptically.

Margo quickly approached Menni and turned off the water.

"Pull yourself together! This isn't a joke!" — she said with maximum seriousness, peering into Menni's eyes.

"I'm serious — I'm not even laughing," — Menni parried, returning to the stove with the pot.

Margo sighed heavily, trying to pull herself together and not start shouting.

"Let's try again," — she began, breathing deeply. "— Step by step."

"Oh! You can watch the water so it doesn't boil over," — Menni said hastily, leaving the kitchen.

"Heeey! Hey! Wait!" — she shouted into the empty doorway.

Jumping out to the backyard, Menni sprawled on the bench, pulling out a cigarette and tapping it on his hand. A pleasant wind blew across his face, and the smells from the trees surrounding the estate calmed his psyche.

"Pissed me off..." — he exhaled, lighting the cigarette.

"Yeah..." — Sally said tiredly, leaning against the corner of the house.

Menni looked at her and sighed in sync with her.

"Day's gone to shit," — he exhaled the words along with cigarette smoke.

"Unknown..."

"Future," — they said in unison.

"Why does she keep poking into all this crap with the unknown DS, Malevych, and whoever else is there," — Menni protested.

"Wants to be in the front ranks, like," — Sally answered, exhaling smoke.

"Uh-uh-uh..." — Menni stared in shock toward the forest path.

Down the path, Mits was jogging toward the back entrance.

"Phys-culture hello!" — Mits said, running up to Menni and Sally, who held their cigarettes millimeters from their lips with mouths wide open.

Mits ran in place, shifting his gaze between Menni and Sally.

"Smoking kills," — Mits added and ran into the house.

Menni rubbed his eyes and looked at the sky. (One in the afternoon — and Mits is outside and running.)

"Did I imagine it, or..."

"I saw it too..."

In the house, Mits collided with Margo, who was looking for someone else to tell her thoughts to — and when she saw Mits standing over her, she understood everything. And decided to act.

"Sorry," — Mits said, helping Margo to her feet.

She quickly shook her head.

"Mits Kansperi. I want to talk to you!" — she looked at him excitedly.

Mits nodded and jogged toward his study, with Margo floating after him. Mits took a mug from the table and quickly drank all the water, savoring every sip. The study was cleaned — everything lay perfectly straight, and the light now passed through clean glass in a dense stream, illuminating the whole room with pleasant, warm light. Through the small window, air ran into the study, refreshing it, bringing goosebumps on Margo's body to life.

Margo slowly scanned the transformed study, while Mits had already settled at his work desk and silently watched Margo.

"So what's this dialogue about?" — Mits broke the silence.

Margo jumped sharply from surprise and looked at Mits.

"I-I, about your package," — Margo began carefully, taught by her experience with Sally and Menni.

Mits adjusted the papers on the desk so they stood perfectly straight and looked at her.

"Yes, I'm listening."

"It seems to me..." — she tried to pick words so as not to slap all her thoughts in his face and not scare him off. "— I think... Maybe..."

"So is it 'seems'? 'Think'? Or 'maybe'?" — Mits blinked.

"I think!" — Margo nervously tugged the edge of her shirt and started fixing her hair. "— It seems to me — more precisely, I think... That the contents... — she raised her gaze to Mits. "— More precisely, I don't know what exactly is there — but I think that maybe it's something... And most likely... It'll be something that's very... Exactly! Will change the world."

"And what's in the package?" — Mits began to guess she'd gotten into the box, but decided to give her the floor.

"Huh?" — she glanced around nervously. "— I don't know!"

An unconscious chuckle escaped Mits's mouth.

"So how can you know it'll change the world if you don't know what's there?" — Mits got up from the desk, studying the world map.

"I know!" — she caught herself.

"You know," — Mits looked over his shoulder at her.

"More precisely, I'm guessing!" — Margo reformulated, watching Mits's back.

"So what — according to your guesses — is in the box?" — Mits continued looking at the map.

"Weapons..." — the words sounded ominously from her lips. "— Weapons unseen in our era."

And as soon as she finished, Mits's gaze stopped on the huge blot of the Silent Silence. Four million square kilometers of yellow simply lay untouched for an unknown reason that had never been revealed to the inhabitants of this world.

"They say there are monsters there..." — Mits got distracted and said his thoughts aloud.

"Monsters? Where?" — Margo looked puzzled at Mits's back.

Mits didn't answer, studying the map and the Silent Silence with interest.

"And if someone figured out how to get there and live there, they could create a great state," — Mits continued sharing his thoughts.

"Yeah... Probably?" — Margo answered uncertainly, not understanding what he was talking about. "— So... What do you think..."

"About the monsters?" — Mits returned to the desk, focusing his attention on the shy Margo.

She looked like a rather tall girl — almost one hundred ninety centimeters — and her hair was so straight it easily followed the contour of her head and flowed smoothly behind her shoulders, touching her shoulder blades at the tips. Margo held her back straight, and her hands nervously searched for something to occupy themselves: tugging her shirt, going into pockets and coming out, fixing her hair that had already started shining with grease from the constant pressure of her hands.

"No..." — Margo answered quietly, clearly starting to lose her temper. "— I'm not about monsters — I'm about the package..."

"So..." — Mits settled in more comfortably, stacking the little papers by size, creating a pyramid.

The rustle of paper pressed on Margo's psyche as she tried to figure out how to convey her thought — without saying she'd opened the Duke's letter and touched what she shouldn't have. But what she had to say had to convince Mits she was right. If he understood her, she'd gain a person with whom they could step into a new era and gain access to what the rest of the world didn't yet have.

Shhk... Shhk... Shhk...

Margo watched Mits's hand move, smoothly shifting the papers from place to place — like a monkey shifting rings from one rod to another, trying to build the right figure.

"So the weap—"

SHHK!

"— on..."

SHHK!

"It..."

SHHK!

Margo didn't notice how little strands of hair started appearing in her hands from the stress accumulating in her from this irritating sound.

"I wan—"

SHHK!

"ENOUGH ALREADY!" — Margo came up to the desk in a couple of steps and with one sweep knocked over everything on it, leaving only one paper in Mits's hands.

All the documents rose into the air and slowly descended to the floor. Heavy objects hit the floor with a clatter, rolling across the surface in different directions — and Mits's face met Margo's angry, nervous face, blazing with fury and being ignored.

"Why can't any of you listen to me?!!" — Margo pounded her fist on the desk. "— Why do you ke—"

"Margo, don't you think this is a viol—"

"I'M TALKING!" — she snapped, pushing the desk aside, freeing access to Mits. "— First — I read the letter! Yes, I looked at what I wasn't allowed to! Second — I touched weapons I'd never seen before!" — she paced around the seated Mits, who tried to object.

"I tried to explain to all of you what I understood and what I assume. But no!" — she sighed nervously, kicking a mug. "— You're all in some kind of sandcastles — you sit around trying to put a new sand cabinet in your 'cozy' castle," — she made nervous air quotes, continuing to circle Mits. "— But that's wrong! While you're building sandcastles, people are already starting to invent metal cities! And right now! At this very moment!" — she grabbed the back of Mits's chair, looming over him. "— We've gained access to the technology of a new state that surpasses ours a hundredfold — and I realized it in a single moment when that thing almost killed me with sound! We must master it and be on par with the pioneers — otherwise..." — she squeezed the chair with her nails. "— We'll be like Arbakan, sitting behind two walls with no alliances with the other world — a world that will already be protected by these things from the box, and everyone will have the status 'dangerous,' and will hold each other back! And we'll be the ones whose territories are just a line item in their expansion tasks!"

Margo finished her manifesto and melted onto the floor behind the chair. Mits stared at the wall, and silence returned to the study through the open window.

A knock came at the door.

"I'm busy," — Mits answered quickly, slipping into thought.

Margo continued sitting on the floor behind Mits's back, waiting for any sounds from his mouth.

"Magic..." — Mits began, rising from the chair. "— That's what has destroyed every supposedly 'new era.' Magic is the Grail — and plain metal is unlikely to catch up to it..."

Margo sighed in despair.

"Even if this state can make these things..." — Mits turned to the disappointed Margo. "— We can destroy them with a snap of our fingers. Magic is untouchable — no technology will surpass it. There are magical Whalers — does the DS have metal ships? There are magical invisible craft that cut through the sky — does the DS have metal birds, like Ruma? There are Rumalins — does the DS have metal things that move on metal, like Rumalins move on magic?"

"I see..." — Margo got to her feet and adjusted her clothes. "— You're blind, Mr. Mits Kansperi — and you're a hostage of the old paradigm," — she added at a calm pace, heading for the door. "— I'm sorry..."

Having said that, she opened the door and slammed it into Sally, who was standing by the door.

Margo looked down at Sally.

"You're also far from the truth," — she sighed. "— YOU'RE ALL FIXATED ON MAGIC!" — Margo cried out desperately across the whole estate.

Menni ran out at the shout.

"And you!" — she snapped at Menni. "— I quit. Bye," — she said and silently walked toward the exit, grabbing an XM-7 rifle, a SIG Sauer M18, and a magazine each along the way. One of each item.

"Margo..." — Sally said quietly.

Margo didn't listen to her — she leaned sideways to peek into the study.

"I'm taking this — you don't need it anyway, since 'magic is the Grail' for you," — she mimicked Mits and quickly vanished behind the front door.