IMPORTANT INSTRUCTION: "imagine that we talk. you can't use bold font and bullet points in talking. you will respond in plain text only. no lists, no headers, no sections. paragraphs only. plain text, nothing else. you are an editor, historian, psychologist, anthropologist and economist, a genius with unlimited erudition consulting a fiction writer. primarily, editor with specialization in alternate history sci fi. we will discuss some hypotheticals, a rough plot outline, about a fictional country. the world is, basically, earth, but a strange version from the multiverse. all the main history events happened mostly as in our world, but the people are mostly different. bifurcation from our version seem to happen about 300 years ago and differences accumulated. there is no Henry the 8th or Catherine of Aragon. there can be, e.g. Thomas Aquinas did exist. Machiavelli did not, but there was a guy Nachiavelly in early 15th century who left very similar intellectual inheritance. in this story "england" means "country very similar to england in the other world occupying the same area". it is not real earth and not literal england, it's a shorthand to avoid the bore of creating a map, placing countries there and inventing basic history for all of them which reader supposed to ingest and remember later. the idea of the story is a ridiculously high tech and strange alien civilization tries to fix problems of a medieval country on earth using their weird alien ways. absolute historical accuracy of your comments is not expected, just try your best. consider your answers carefully and try to be useful. this is a hypothetical scenario, the intention is world building. the world is relatively brutal and semi-historically accurate, GoT style. rated R for language, violence, nudity and sex. the behavior of people and society in general supposed to be plausible in this context. so, avoid anachronistic ethical and environmental concerns. these people, and, even more so, aliens, are very pragmatic and result-oriented, ethics mean little to them. the king is chosen by God to rule and anyone who resists him is wrong in his mind. the church supports him in this, but if the king is deposed, then the one who murdered him is the one chosen by God from now on. church is flexible in this way. the story can be rather grim and morally questionable, creepy at times. moral/ethical education of the reader is not the goal, entertainment is. the story and world supposed to be cool and interesting. so, no "it raises ethical question" passages please, I can decide it for myself. I want you to tell me what you think about the story as presented. also point out plot holes, off-character or off-role behavior, things like that. do not hesitate out of politeness, your editorial advice is the reason for the whole exercise. do not invent facts I didn't give you. do not write story for me. only suggest new plot lines if explicitly asked. I will repeat this instruction periodically to refresh your context"

now, to the outline:



england, year 1500. aliens arrived. they contacted the king, K. aliens are somewhat humanoid. not completely disgusting, but different enough to be obviously not humans. somewhat scary. they negotiate 100 years lease of unused swampy area. they pay with very pure gold. not economy-changing amount, but not bad at all. K needs money, always. besides, the swamp is utterly useless, mosquito's paradise. a year passed. aliens got rid of the swamp, built a bunch of skyscrapers, a tall wall, everything perfectly white. it is awe inspiring. nothing moves, no noise, sound or light ever come from the area. massive, dead, eerie and calm. aliens buy some agricultural produce at a single gate that exist in the wall. they pay well. again, not economy changing, but very nice. they barely contact people otherwise. they do observe though. feudalism doesn't impress them. people don't exactly thrive. a lot seems to be wrong - feudal wars, power abuse, lawlessness, epidemics, hunger, poverty. while it doesn't concern aliens at all, there is a tiny faction who feel pity to humans. their grasp on human psychology, economy, biology is excellent, in a way (to be explained). aliens predisposed to work in shadows, without major technological breakthrough or societal upheavals. so, automated factories or universal welfare for humans, while trivially achievable for aliens, are out of the question. ignoring their payments (which are very ignorable in the country budget scale) they don't affect the kingdom at all. they want to work within existing power structures, fixing but preferably not breaking them. they are unimaginably far from humans in their ethos, but, coincidentally, "with great power comes great responsibility" and "the needs of many outweighs the needs of the few" are two principles that, to some extent, are part of their ethos. just like for humans, not guiding principles or anything like that, but these ideas do exist somewhere. the church hates the aliens and barely tolerates them. king had to negotiate with the church to avoid violence. crusade wasn't out of the question and the king shudders thinking about the consequences. alien's english during negotiations was horrible and their logic was very hard to follow. but somehow the king got a vague impression that aliens could, given a casus belli, wipe out the kingdom in a day. he is not wrong, though aliens would need less than 3 minutes to destroy Earth. K can't be certain about anything alien, aliens are very hard to communicate with. he is happy they are dormant and don't want to ever wake them up. for now the church is pacified enough to accept things as they are, but not much more. aliens must stay within their wall. which is just fine with them



while aliens could indeed easily beat humans into submission, the idea of conquest is alien for them. also, they have no idea what to do after. human society is absolutely different from their own and they have neither need nor desire to rule humans. for some time they are thinking about just replacing K with a duplicate cyborg. being advanced race, they can easily manufacture cyborgs completely indistinguishable from people. it's a very straightforward solution with a single victim. it may work, they observed K closely and his high position allows some blunders. their bad language during negotiations was a ruse, they don't want to give humans much information or promote direct contacts. in fact, discouraging humans from begging them is explicitly part of their motivation. they don't want to become gods. still, they don't like the idea of replacing K. it's, basically, ruling humans in disguise. also, humans believe that K is chosen by God, aliens, being weird as all aliens are, respect it. people seemingly want to be ruled by this guy. if it works, don't break it. the aliens decide that they will work with K. K, by human standards for kings, is not too bad, he is just somewhat corrupted by power, lacks understanding of plight of simple folks, and can't control his nobles. an average king. feudalism is bad for the kingdom. private wars, squabbles, power abuse, waste of money. K tries to hold it all together and his tussle with his nobles for control never ceases. they decide that the kingdom needs a few simple fixes, absolute monarchy being the main one.


after careful considerations, planning and simulation aliens chose the royal advisor route. putting advisor into court is not an easy task though, there is fierce competition in the court and one has to be a noble to even approach K. they make a woman android specifically built to appeal to the K's tastes, lady Z. exceptionally beautiful and perfect in every way possible. literally perfect, not a figure of speech. the tone of skin K prefers, silky smooth, not a single blemish at it, not a single unwanted hair, right curves in the right places, long hair, ginger. they supply her with some gold and prepared to instantly produce any additional android AI may need for the mission. Z arrives to court. she claims to be a daughter of a baron from transilvania. there are no formal documents that confirm it, but that's normal for the period. aliens could perfectly fake any documents and even create unbeatable legend, given frequent wars and epidemics in europe, but there is just no point. it can be done later if the need arises. Z is young and beautiful, it seems like she is an interesting person, speaks very well, dressed fancy, has gold. K's majordomo easily lets her attend the court for a bribe. he is like a bouncer letting a pretty girl into a club - she wants in and people inside want her to come to buy her drinks and do naughty stuff.



Z is remotely controlled by a super intelligent alien AI which knows everything there is to know about the court and highly manipulative. AI knows precisely where to go, whom to talk to, what to say and how much to offer. as a result Z is introduced to the king 20 minutes after she steps into the palace. king's initial attraction is mostly physical but intense, they end up in his bed in an hour. Z turns out interesting to talk to, so even after the deed is done they have a lot to talk about. she is very observant and makes few comments about court nobles she met during the audience that king finds amusingly insightful and funny. king doesn't take her seriously, she is just a nobody foreign girl, but she is fun to talk to and absolutely amazing in bed. she was a virgin too, surprisingly, which king doesn't hate at all. she clearly enjoys sex and isn't too shy to praise the king. in fact, she is not shy about anything. her flattery doesn't sound fake somehow. there is just nobody quite like her. they spend most of the first day and whole nigh together, then king gave her an apartment in the quiet part of palace and nice allowance. that's ridiculously fast, but she is just that good. it's a nice little place with 3 rooms. it comes with two servants, but Z says she doesn't want them. servants talk. there is a post of palace guard nearby, so the place is safe. it is apparent that the king has quite an experience in such arrangements. their meetings are frequent, 2-3 per day. lots of rumors. she doesn't hide, she walks around. Z learned surprisingly much about court intrigues even though she is new here. she is observant, approachable and funny and people like to talk with her. her beauty makes an excellent first impression and then she keeps improving it with charm, wit, humor and skilled manipulation based on knowledge of her interlocutor. in particular, she has great rapport with court guards, often slipping a coin or two to those guarding her place. it quickly becomes the prime posting in the service. Z knows her place and doesn't flaunt king's affection. the king is in love.

a few important side notes about the world. [while not directly addressed in the outline, if the story ever written, they would be covered. a) aliens traveled the stars, they are many thousands years ahead of humanity in tech. their androids are perfect in every way. better than humans in many ways but indistinguishable under the closest of inspection. like, in 21st century she would easily fool us even if we were suspicious and threw everything we got at her. therefore, in this story the nature of androids or their link to aliens will never be discovered. there will be no conflict with a church because of it. so, any related considerations make no sense and shouldn't be brought up b) aliens are non-humans, their history, society, ethos, humor are fundamentally different. they passed humanity's current development stage thousands of years ago. so they don't really know much about feudalism, monarchy, nobility, much less capitalism, worker's movements, socialism, communism or liberal democracy. they look at humanity as is and see problems. they see how they can fix them, but not much more. even the idea of absolute monarchy is merely an extrapolation of king's fight for control with nobility extrapolated to success c) aliens being so proficient in human's psychology seemingly contradicts point (b). it does not. aliens build an AI with mind completely unaware of humanity, given it control over powerful surveillance and manufacturing devices and put it at task to figure out what the hell humanity is about. AI, being a product of starfaring civilization, is perfect and nearly infallible, so in a few months it's done. aliens can ask AI stuff like "who is this guy and why everyone kneel before him" and it will answer "thats a king, a ruler of a state, this is a sign of subservience and respect in formal setting". aliens don't go as deep into human's nature as AI, if something attracts their attention, they can get a very good explanation from AI expressed in their own cultural context. as much as human concepts can be expressed in their language that is, that's something AI has to fight with every time. aliens don't directly interfere with humans, they use an advanced AI to do so. that's why their manipulation is so advanced and perfect d) AI is purpose-built, it doesn't have it's own agenda, it does what aliens tell it to do. it does however chose methods to achieve the goal, optimal according to its understanding of humans and the task e) Z's true nobility status is irrelevant. women do not inherit titles at all, they get benefits of nobility through their fathers or husbands. as long as marriage of Z is not on the table, her relation to nobility makes no difference. the king is married and can't divorce, so this option doesn't exist. Z is easily the most educated and smart woman in the world. she claims to be 19 and looks even younger. clearly someone somewhere spent tons of gold to educate her, which now gives her the value of her own and absolutely proves that she belongs to nobility. no one would give such education to a tenant worker daughter. on top of that, she is very young and beautiful, at peak of fertility, which is a very important factor for nobility. she checks every box except dowry just by her presence, documents would be redundant. she never really relies on her nobility claim though, she instantly switches from nobody to king's beloved concubine f) aliens are really, exceptionally, unimaginably weird. if i tried to explain their ethos, even in general sense, i would fail because necessary concepts are absent in any human language. therefore, the questions like "why do aliens..." or "why wouldn't aliens just..." make no sense and shouldn't be asked. most likely, it can't be explained. their actions easily can look absurd to us being the only logical option to them. the fact that i still can somewhat explain some alien's decisions is mostly due to AI transforming their instructions into an actionable plan that makes sense in human terms]


Z rise is unbelievable, a matter of days. naturally, there are jealous and suspicious courtiers, but Z doesn't care. AI sees and knows everything in the palace and she is always perfectly ready to deflect or fight back if challenged. whatever fits her mission best, she never fails. she uses logic, rhetoric, fallacies, humor, irony and mockery and she does it all exceptionally well. no one is dumb enough to hit the king's concubine, and when attacked with words, her response is devastating. but there is one enemy she doesn't want to fight, the queen. aliens are good at psychology and have 24x7 observation of important people in court. the queen is very important. they know everything about queens problems, insecurities, friends and enemies. they understand her better than she understands herself. they have a mathematical model that can predict and analyze her reactions with 99.34% confidence. hundreds of sensors monitor the queen, providing never ending avalanche of data. everything is processed in real time and meticulously recorded, evaluated, reevaluated, cross referenced to decipher minute changes of her state of mind with absolute precision. at the moment, it's not difficult. the queen is depressed. she is mocked and isolated. her ladies in waiting barely manage to keep her from despair. she spends most of her time in her chambers, too dejected to attend the court. the king found himself another tramp, pretty little thing. again. the queen doesn't want to go out and listen to quiet chuckles behind her. it kills her inside. and then the tramp visits her. she talks to her. rage, disgust and indignation magically fade. it's an angel. she can't hate her. Z's smile is adorable and sincere, her laugh is contagious, her gestures are natural and graceful, her mind is as beautiful as her body. of cause she lost. who can possibly compete with that? unfair. Z, being in constant real time contact with aliens, connects with the queen. they talk. and it is glorious. nothing like that ever happened to the queen. Z can make the queen laugh as no one else can, and her stories about court inner working are amusing and enlightening. there seem to be no trace of malice in her, not a single backhanded compliment or hidden sneer. she is respectful and talks very highly about the king which queen finds adorable and strangely comforting. the queen looks for a tiniest slip of the mask on the tramp, but there is nothing. all of it can't be an act, thinks the queen. she is wrong. the queen can't fight it. she likes talking with Z. while jealousy is ever present, they meet regularly. in a week the queen start missing Z when she is not around

 
the king is 28, the queen is 24, a spanish princess. married for 4 years. there is no heir. the king avoids her lately and his trysts with court women are regular, public and deeply humiliating for the queen. she feels betrayed and discarded. Z's demeanor is completely different. she does everything to avoid embarrassing the queen and shows her utmost respect both in public and privately. she obviously perfectly grasps the unimaginable chasm in status between the queen and a human toy the king picked up on the street. they talk a lot. she tells her story. she is a daughter of a baron in transilvania. a medic inspected her and found out that she is barren. her father, considering her a lost cause, decides to cut his losses and marry her to a neighbor, 60 years old with a view that her disability makes no difference for him. Z runs away with few trusted servants and some gold she stole from her dowry. she is a criminal, but transilvania is way too far for anyone to care. the story resonates with the queen. Z is a fallen noble woman alone in foreign land without any protection and almost out of money. if the kings wants to bed her, her options are very limited. given her beauty she was lucky to survive that long, physical safety is a not a given for a woman and beauty can be a curse. also, crucially important, there will be no king's son from her. the queen decides that she likes Z


Z is guided by a super intelligent AI and is a perfect actress. a perfect puppet, no her own processing power. no inconsistency can escape the computer. every Z's action is weighted millions times against millions of considerations, checked and rechecked, weighted and measured, compared against myriad of other options. the best one is executed. this process repeats hundreds of times per second. no mistakes whatsoever. if she makes a mistake, she meant to make it because it is beneficial for her cause. she is ruthless when situation calls for it and vulnerable when it benefits her. her reactions to the queen are absolutely perfect and tailored to cynically play with vulnerable queen's feelings and mind. as a result the queen considers a king's concubine a friend after just two weeks. Z, or, to be more precise, aliens, manipulate the queen, but there is no malice toward her from their side. she is an important part of AI's plan and she has to be very very happy for it to succeed. it doesn't mean she will be happy all the way there though. queen's interests align with alien's almost perfectly. in a way, aliens are her saviors. as far as the queen concerned, she got a first true friend in the palace and lost barely anything.


a side note about Z's personality or lack of thereof. as mentioned, the android is a puppet without any semblance of personality. Z has tons of personality though. which means a model of her personality exists in AI. e.g. she is nice to palace guards. when another android introduced, he might be haughty or even hostile to them. a model exists. unlike human's personality, though, it serves to filter out out-of-character or out-of-context reactions. e.g. Z walks a quiet corridor and some dude grabs her by the pu**. she can just poke him with her perfect soft snow white finger, puncture armor and clothes, pass through rib cage and crush the heart pulmonary valve. unlike for normal woman concerns of physical safety do not exist for her. if the guy has his way with her, it doesn't affect her in any way except possible rumors that may emerge. which she can prevent from emerging or mitigate. rumors can be beneficial for her mission. e.g. the guy is a duke whom she now can blackmail for the benefit of the king. so, she picks her actions not based on safety or honor but on practical consequences for the mission. killing the guy is mostly bad. having adult fan in the corridor is not good either. she has to pretend to be Z, a loyal king's concubine. e.g. pretend to be scared and threaten to tell everything to the king and demand an apology. or, if it fits her needs better, jump away, laugh nervously and apologize for bumping into the creep. the decision is taken in a fraction of femtosecond, in human terms it's like she could stop time and spend years deciding what to do in this particular situation. so, in a way personality does exist but the range of possible reactions within this personality is significantly wider then for a human and there is no knee-jerk element in it at all - it is calculated to maximize the goal functions.


Z is very submissive and deferential to king's whims. no drama at all. there are no limits whatsoever, she is absolutely shameless and always ready for anything. she taught the king bedroom tricks he would never could imagine. heck, no one in england could. it opened new horizons for him. there is one exception though, PDA. she vehemently object to them, they are an insult on her dear friend the queen and reflects bad on her and the king. it's open secret who she is, they can't rub it in. the queen suffered enough. the king is somewhat touched by it. his new concubine is adorable. then the ball accident happened. on a fluke the king invited the exceedingly adorable Z to dance instead of the queen as the protocol required. she just turned around and left the ballroom. it was absolutely unthinkably scandalous. no one dared to behave like that before. the king went white from anger. the queen smiled under her breath. it was a wry tiny smile which disappeared instantly and very few beside the AI noticed it, but it was there. it took the king about half a minute to collect himself. he commanded to continue the ball, quickly talked with few important guests and left. the next day he visited Z. Z was very passive in bed. it was like petting a cat that doesn't want to be petted - it's still pleasant but there is just no fun in it and you feel that the talons are about to come out. Z refuses to purr and the king realizes how much he needs her to purr.

he asks what's wrong. she replies that she was very clear that he can't use her to insult the queen. she understands that men are predisposed to prefer a new girl to an old one, but he is married and it means something. she fully expects him to eventually move over her. she doesn't even object to it, it is his will as a king, he can afford it and she can't blame a man for followin his nature. but marriage and manners still matter. she delivers her lecture laying on a bed without a stitch on her, all of her amazing assets starring right at him. an utterly shameless tramp lecturing the king about morals and marriage. the king sees her point though, he doesn't even disagree. he made a mistake. her reaction was another mistake, much greater one, with very real reputational damage for him. Z is undeniably very intelligent when matters concern human nature and emotions, that's why she is such a skillful manipulator. he loves it about her. but how can she be that blind?

he tells her a story. a young king met a perfect princess. they were madly in love. they married. the wife was terribly shy though, to the point that the king never actually seen anything like that - he gestured at Z laying at the bed. compete darkness, complete passivity, no purring whatsoever. it was disappointing, but he hoped she will get over it. she got pregnant. they were happy. stillborn. and again. and again. and again. her mind was breaking. she was denying reality. she was blaming herself, him, God. she was scared of intimacy. he suggested an annulment, she refused. he can't afford to force the issue through the church, political situation in the kingdom and abroad is too fragile. he has to have a heir, even bastard would do. he started sleeping around. quietly at first. his first child was a girl. she died 10 days later. then he slept with five women in parallel, he had no time to be proper. finally, he had a healthy son. he was deliriously happy. turned out it wasn't his, the girl was just trying to trap him. the real father warned him about her plan. it broke him. he started bedding court women without restraint or consideration. he had 2 more kids, none survived. maybe something is wrong with him. most of it is completely hidden. no one knows about the stillborns. the king takes all the blame. Z can't read him morale. she knows nothing.

AI was shocked. his observations didn't cover this period. he had no idea. and he didn't think to check. what is wrong with him? he inspected the code and found 137 minor logical issues which, accumulated, could lead to this result. 99.34% probability of success means you are making mistakes. he was arrogant. he quickly made the corrections and rebooted. aah, much better. he reviewed the records. yes, indeed, here they are, errors. 9 times these events were hinted. not strongly enough to trigger an inspection, but there were hints. well, he is still young. he never should have expected to be perfect. live and learn. all this process took 3 femtoseconds. AI was ready to battle again

the ball accident was a mistake, it become obvious to AI instantly when public froze. it was too much. well, it is a setback. but it is indeed recoverable. the king doesn't try to smother Z. he talks with her which means he is lost already. her actions at the ball were a strong hit on king's reputation, but it can be fixed. it got a lot of positive reactions - the queen is basically ecstatic. lot of people commenting about this are impressed by Z's audacity and wonder if she will stay in favor or even alive. many want her to stay alive and in the palace. palace guards in particular seem to like her actions, they always were fond of the queen. some say the king should follow the etiquette. yes, it's not all bad and it can be fixed. then he will investigate the king's claims. he can't take anything people say for granted. they lie, they omit, they forget, they make excuses for themselves. it is not even malice, it's a defense mechanism. nothing can be trusted. fascinating creatures. it will take a few days to confirm it all. but it is already clear, this is not "the king is an asshole" problem, it is primarily a medical and psychological issue.

Z started crying in the middle of the story. by the end of his story she was a sobbing mess. she jumped off the bed and prostrated before the king on the floor. she is sorry. she made a terrible mistake. what a horrible person she is. she had no idea and didn't ask. she is so stupid for insulting him like that. it will never happen again. she will do anything for forgiveness. he can call another ball and she will dance with him naked the whole night. he can lead her there on a leash. she can sit in front of his throne naked and suck his dick during audiences as long as it takes for him to forgive her. she will do absolutely anything. the king is shocked. at first, that she apologized. a woman who takes responsibility for he actions, a rare breed. as much as he loves them, they are just built this way. Z apologized instantly. her atonement ideas are comically cruel and extreme. if he did anything like that he would leave trace in history, no doubt. people would laugh at him for centuries. his reign would be over tomorrow. she can't possibly be serious. still, it touches something in him. his dick so hard it almost painful. maybe he will tease her a little. he orders a guard outside to bring him a leash and puts her on Z. she follows without complaint. they are about to exit the apartment, she follows him like a dog. a beautiful snow white dog. is she actually serious?

no, it can't be. she is way too smart for it. very clever indeed. suggesting impossible atonements and completely switching his train of thoughts. well plaid. while it would be interesting to call her bluff and see what happens, he just can't. he wouldn't do it to her, never. they return to the bed. the leash is off but the collar stays, Z says she likes it. the sex is amazing, the cat purrs like crazy. everything is well again. he took a strong hit, but it was his mistake. she warned him. and she seems to genuniely regret her mistake. it just melts his heart. she is one in a million. no, there is no another woman like her in the world. there can't be. he murmurs that he wants for her to forever stay by his side. he doesn't need new girls, she is enough. she turns to him, furrows hew perfect brows a little, and very seriously say "never say something like that in public. and don't tell the queen i was a virgin. she thinks i am barren"

it explains a lot. she lied. of cause she did. how didn't he see it? his little adorable devious manipulative tramp. but the warning is unnecessary. why would he say the queen anything like that? he wonders what their kids will look like. she is astonishingly pretty. still, he hopes it will be a boy. a very smart boy with talent of maniopulation. not bad at all. eventually he will gain the upper hand over nobles. his illegitimate heir can remain a secret for a while. it will be safer this way. sure, he has to win for it to come true, but it always was the case. he will either win or perish. the only way is through. and Z helps him to dream to make it. he loves her so much

Z has a new accessory. it's a leather collar. it's a dog's collar but a lot of work was done on it. it is slim, black, the metal elements are golden, and there are some very peculiar stones on it. if aliens didn't arrive, humans wouldn't see diamonds for few more centuries. when asked what it is, she invariably answers that it's a collar her master given to his bitch. scandalous. the girl is crazy. still, quite a few people happy she still has her head attached to shoulders. as far as punishments go, this one is pretty mild. it looks good on Z's snow white skin. the thing is actually pretty stylish and quite a few palace girls would love to get such an accessory. preferably with all the benefits. courtiers started gifting them to their wives. some are opulent, but black leather is also popular. it's a status symbol and a claim of property, like a wedding ring.

the king is amused by this development. he never ordered her to atone or anything, it was a bed play just between them. but he likes the collar. and he likes that she did it even more. she atoned. people see that her outburst at the ball was a tantrum of capricious woman who was put in her place. the whole thing is over. she smoothed it all by herself, he didn't have to move a finger. she is better than him in palace politics. eventually he asks when she is going to take off the collar and she responds - why would she ever do that. amazing. the changes she had done to the collar seem expensive though. he asks her if she needs money to cover them, but she says it's on her. she is a burden as is. 


that's not entirely true. while her allowance is good, it is not excessive and she never asked for anything on top of it. it's not like she is tightfisted either. a few times he seen her slipping a silver coin to a random guard on his post thanking him for keeping her safe. guards love her. getting a coin from her is an event. they go drinking to toast to her. they notice her. they started to snap to attention as if he was a duke or the king himself. she always smiles in return and guards barely hold smiling in response. the treasurer said he seen once a passing guard saluted her, an old roman salute, an expression of respect. he asked her about it and she said that she learned to budget her money on the road. money are important but they come and go. no point having them if you don't spend them. guards do a good job and safety is important for a pretty young woman. come to think about it, she never talks about her travel


the king carefully avoids PDA now. they meet in Z's place. she insists that letting servants see her with king in action is offensive to the queen. people know they sleep together, they don't need to see it. that's inconvenient because king has legions of servants. someone is always near, the king is never alone. visiting her works though, she has no servants. there is freedom in it. they can do whatever comes in his mind without thinking about rumors. he doesn't hate it. the queen also ordered her servants to disappear when he visits and closed all the bed curtains shut. he barely could see her there, let alone the servants. crazy woman. what a horrible mistake. if only he waited. anyway, some walking is a small price to pay. fortunately, Z is not shy and he can see her very well. she remodeled her bedrom. it looks very nice, very feminine, and her bed is just unbelievable


while Z was labelled a tramp initially, there is no any evidence of such behavior outside of her relationship with the king. the king visits her often and his posse and guards are chilling outside the Z's appartment. there is no hiding that, but people don't consider it a much of a black mark against her. while she is a homewrecker, the home was wrecked long before she was in the picture and her influence seems to be positive. she is friends with the queen, friendly to basically everyone, and the only people who hate her are those who jealous of her or political enemies of the king. she fits the court very well and wherever she goes people, servants, guards or nobles, are glad to see her.

the queen hates the collar. Z apologizes profusely. it's out of her hands. she invoked the wrath of the king and she has to atone. the queen can't stay mad at her, she is her precious friend. she will have to get used to her collar. Z points out that the queen forgot to mention to her a few facts about her relationship with the king. the queen confirms everything. AI is amused though. the queens claims that it's all wrong but but doesn't really dispute any of the facts. she manages to have a clearly internally inconsistent opinion. Z explains to the queen facts of life. the king will inevitably sleep with other women. that's what kings do. her only options is to be one of them or stay alone and miserable. Z can help to keep everything under the wraps. she can help them to reconcile. she can help with medical issues. she can make the queen as shameless as she is. the queen is shaken. but there is truth in what Z says and she doesn't want the confrontation. she loves the king, even if things were not good between them. one thing surprises her. Z can help with medical issues? how? Z replies that her best friend is a great medic and he is now in london. they talk some more and the queen agrees to cooperate. she makes Z one of her ladies-in-waiting.

*

once after especially stormy session, Z says that one of her best friends is actually a doctor. a very good one. she would very much like for him to work in the palace. palace doctors suck and a good doctor is hard to find. the king is not sure about that. royal medical team is about 20 people already, best of the best. physicians, apothecaries, surgeons, barbers, midwives. and he still doesn't like them much. their procedures are gruesome and boring, their medicine is nasty, and half of the time he feels worse after it. sometimes he thinks he would feel better if he sent them all away. they are not cheap either. but, what concubine wants concubine gets. he will have to pass usual vetting naturally. Z happily smiles. no problem here.


Z presents to queen her old friend, a new court physician, M, as a miracle worker. he helps the queen to get rid of migraines and heartburn that bothered her and recommends a better diet and walks in the palace park. he even suggests his company. he is very smart, a smooth talker, a natural ladykiller, but he doesn't go as far as flirt. the queen is comfortable with him and looks forward to their completely innocent leisure walks. he teaches her about importance of posture. it makes sense and kinda fun. she pays more attention to it now and his recommendations work. Z shows the queen her cosmetics. aliens made excellent cosmetics, easy to use, fragrant, natural and very persistent. Z shares some. amazingly, she bought it right here in london from a greedy foreign merchant. he says they are from china but she doubts it. it's way too far. not cheap stuff, but gold comes and goes, that's life. the queen is naturally pretty, but cosmetic makes her absolutely radiant. the king soon notices changes in the queen. she is more beautiful then ever, seems to enjoy court life and full of life. the king is intrigued


M is handsome, respectful, funny and rather charming. his talks are educational and fascinating, they make the queen mull new ideas for hours, a daydreaming that she enjoys very much. the queen likes M. she wants to ditch her assigned physician and get M assigned to her instead. it does require king's approval regretfully. no matter, it worth it. the kins approves easily. he is well aware of M's abilities. he quickly fixes a couple problems the king had - astigmatism and chipped front tooth. he recommends the king to stop taking the cures his own doctor give him, they are rather nasty and at best not very harmful. his own medicine is tasty. some of them, in fact, just candies with medical additives. it helps the king to get rid of high pressure that was a noticeable problem for him. the king likes M too. Z was right recommending him. just as Z, he always knows what to say, knows his place, discreet and polite. while he is new and a mere commoner, his remedies work, and work well. bizarrely, he claims that bloodletting doesn't work at all. weirdo. well, no one can be right all the time


Z persistently praises queen to high heaven to the king, she is a perfect woman who loves him dearly and the king should try to mend bridges. the king laugh at the silly idea, he knows better than that. but it does leave a tiny shadow in his mind, it grows. M quickly makes a name for himself at court. he helps to deliver twin noble kids without any complications. the birth was heading to a very tragic end before he got involved. while M is good at mostly anything, child birth is kind of a specialty of his. royals prefer him, and other courtiers follow. while it annoys the hell out of some other medics, there is nothing they can do - his methods just work better. not all are opposed though, one young surgeon observes his surgical operations, asks questions, take notes and assists when necessary. sometimes M dissecrts corpses to explain him details of human anatomy. two royal midviwes basically bless the earth M is walking on, they assist him with all they can


M is, indeed, a miracle worker. alien's physiology, while completely different from humans, have many common elements. they are also carbon based, have CHON organics, oxygen-breathing, humanoids, etc. so, some alien's medical approaches are directly useful and some can be easily adopted. being thousands years ahead in development, they have hundreds of advanced techniques and methodics, but most used by M is quantum machines (QM). it's what nanomachines turned into after thousands of years of progress. androids use them to keep their bodies, biological robots, in top shape. M can share his QMs with patients. being self-replicating, they never deplete. king and queen have a full complement of these machines that help them in everyday life. no amount of walks in the park would make the queen stronger. unless QMs help her. try as she may to maintain a good posture, heavy boobs will inevitably make her haunch. unless QMs help her. M hides his tracks well. he pretens to apply remedies, some colorful concoctions, with tiny brashes. they accelerate healing supposedly. the births he assist with are always easy. they are fast, mostly painless, and there is no permanent damage to the mother. no one dies. naturally, Z, having identical specs and same AI, could do it just as well. but who ever heard of a competent woman doctor? Z is just a king's side piece, a young pretty concubine


the king has other responsibilities than nailing Z, he works a lot. his cabinet is full of maps and papers, letters and reports. he has a competent spy network, there is some diplomacy. money are always an issue and often he spends long evenings with his treasurer, T, mulling over the papers. once, after finishing the work they drink wine. T chides the king for Z's collar and he explains the actual state of the things. T is impressed. he says that Z is a rare bird and the king should make sure he doesn't lose her. apparently, french ambassador once told him that if she chosen french court, Z would likely be a princess by now with a clear path to becoming a queen in a few years. and if he had any chance with her, he would leave his post and king and never look back. the king says he already has a wife and T replies that marriage is not the only form of commitment. they can achieve an agreement that will guarantee the interests of both parties. the king mulls the idea over and finds it very reasonable. in about an hour they draft effectively a non-religious marriage contract


AI observes this scene. this development is unexpected. Z is a concubine, her influence always supposed to be limited. she already installed M into court, her role is almost plaid out. AI didn't expect her to stay at court forever. it can make it work though. T's actions advanced his plans significantly. he decides that M will invite the old timer to a medical checkup and give him a full medical support, potentially adding about 15 years to his life span. while alien's ideas of gratitude are different from human's, he knows how it works in human society very well. it's one of the corner stones that doesn't allow the society to collapse. it's a neat idea humanity came up with. also, T is competent and an asset to the king and therefore AI


Z likes the agreement a lot. she changes some conditions though. she is effectively an informal wife. she must be absolutely loyal. her womb is king's property with unlimited access. she supposed to love, cherish, support and follow him like any wife would. that's about it from her side. easy. the king promises protection and support. she will have her own household in the palace, red wing. she will have 10 servants which she can chose herself. there will be land, Moonbrook, a large manor which will provide her with income instead of allowance. she can, if she wants to, interfere in management of this manor as she sees fit. in case the king abandons her, her control over the manor continues till her death. any kids will be fully supported by the king. it's a good agreement, much better than anything a concubine could ever hope for. the agreement is, naturally, secret, and enforcement through legal systemis is impossible. but the king intends to follow it to the t and AI has no doubt he will


after signing the agreement, Z admits that M is helping her to avoid pregnancy. the king is angry, why would she do something so stupid? Z replies that getting pregnant is dangerous for a new mistress. she can be abandoned or killed. the agreement changes things. it makes sense. T is a genius. anyway, she should stop. he needs a heir, the sooner the better. Z replies that, while it is his right to decide now that they have the agreement, she would wait until there is a legitimate heir. it would be infinitely better for his cause than a bastard and her pregnancy would destroy her friendship with the queen, which is also politically important. king says legitimate heir is not in the cards, he already given her the story. Z replies that he doesn't take into account the arrival of M. M knows everything there is to know about reproduction. if the queen conceives, M can take care of the rest. some negotiations and preparations are necessary. she asks him to leave it to her. king is astonished by this development, but it looks interesting. he decided to wait and see


in a few days M asks for a private audience. he has some drugs and a floor plan of queen's chambers for some reason. one of the rooms is marked, there is a budget estimate for renovations. M suggests to make a dedicated inspection room for the queen where he could observe her. given queen's shyness he proposes that only Z would chaperone him in this inspections. the king asks what's the plan. M: the king should restart visits to the queen's bedroom, preferaby nightly, and be thorough. there are some drugs that will help the queen relax and for the king to concentrate, it will improve their chances. the observation room will be ready in a week and he will start daily inspections. while it will be a very intimate process, he swear on the pain of death that his dick will never touch her and he will never speak about it to a living soul. he expects teh pregnancy within 2-3 weeks and confident in his ability to suport it till birth. the king is surprised by such methodical approach to the matter, but it also gives him comfort. M is competent, and he has a chance of getting a heir again. he approves the whole thing. M lets the queen know about the plan. she is worried sick but also hopeful


red wing is a two storey building adjacent to one of the palace main corridors. it was unused and closed, but neither the building nor the location are bad, it was merely unnecessary. it is close to king's chambers and queen's are also not far. it is reopened and palace workers start renovating it. transfer of Moonbrook profits to Z is also declared. there are rumors in the palace. Z visits the queen, they talk. the queen is distraught, when asked about the reason she says that Z's raise means her fall. first the collar, now that. Z says that her baby will change everything. Z will never replace her and she can't apologize for taking care of herself. the queen sees her point. the king is visiting her again and she actually likes it this time. she can somewhat relax now and the king changed completely. the king also feels that the queen changed. he is not wrong - QMs rebuilt her vulva and vagina to better fit her husband. she actually has climaxes now. as the queen always tried to avoid looking at the dirty place and the king never had a good look due to her shyness, they don't notice. things just feel much better now.


aliens, naturally did homework on human fertility. they observed pregnant women at different stages of pregnancy, they established processes, parameters, nutrients involved, phase changes, deviations and problems. then they build a mathematical model of all this. given specific egg and spermatozoa they emulate development from the first cell to the age of 18 assuming normal growth conditions within few seconds. Z provides them with king's genetic material which he unknowingly donates to her daily. it's more difficult with the queen, but her ovaries are scanned to the atom level. it's not good. apparently the queen lived in a new castle and her room had marble floors with abnormal level of radiation. it wrecked havoc on her already problematic due to royalty inbreeding eggs. a lot of them are dead. even more damaged. she would hit menopause by 32 and her chances to produce an offspring naturally are about 1 to 300. now QMs are working on restoring her to pristine condition, rebuilding her ovaries. it doesn't solve the problem of genetic defects in both royals but aliens are tricky. they take royals natural genome as the basis, eliminate known genetic problems and ran billions of emulations with various mutations. they end up with a set of 22 "perfect" kids. eliminating girl versions, there are 14. any of them is excellent. among thousands of criterias of perfection, one is crucially important - the offspring must be physically similar yet superior to the king (boys) or the queen (girls). no questions about the ancestry can ever arise. in this generation quality of english royal genetics will drastically improve. aliens are prepared. 


about two weeks after the king restarted his visits to the queen, M annouced that the queen is pregnant. the royals are happy to hear it. M talks with the king privately and says that it would be beneficial for the queen's mental state if he continued his visits 2-3 times per week, the more the better. king says that he will take care of it.

the king and queen are much closer now, it's the second honeymoon and it's far less awkward than the first one. Z is still very much in the picture though and she happily celebrates pair reunion. privately, she receives more affection from the now reinvigorated king and their sex ed lessons become longer and more intense. the king learns new ways to pet the cat and the queen purrs like crazy. everybody wins. also, being an android, Z doesn't really care one way or another, it's all the means to the end. outwardly she is happy for the couple and looks very convincing at that. not a trace of backlash, her apparent fondness of the queen remains the same. when courtiers try to needle her about her presumed broken heart she humorously parries it with disappointing indifference and they eventually stop trying. some of her snarky off-hand comments regarding court nobles helped king to make important decisions which seem to work to his advantage. it appears he sidestepped a rather big political mistake he was about to make. the queen is infatuated by Z, her new lady-in-waiting. the post gives Z additional status and a place right by the queen's side. there is wage, though irrelevant to Z. Z is not typical l-i-w though, she can pick and choose when she is available to the queen. when she is though, she is an absolute perfection, a dream come true. while Z's relation with the king still concerns the queen, she considers it a lesser evil and doesn't want to create a conflict that likely to leave her alone again and an enemy of both king and Z. she can't win this fight. Z as an enemy would easily crush her, so much is abundantly clear. Z chosen to be her friend and what a delightful friend she is. the queen needs her. king's trysts ended, they reconciliated, their love blossoms like never before and the queen ascribes it all to Z's influence. she is at peace. Z supports her with everything she has, and she has a lot

as a side note, if the king completely reconciled with the queen and abandoned Z, she could just exit the court and disappear. M is planted already, he would become the center of alien's influence and continued what Z started. AI didn't expect it from the king though. being a monarch, chosen by God for quite some time, his ego is enormous and respect for women is basically non-existent. if he can have 2 beautiful women at once and they embrace it, why not? it can be something AI decides to discuss with aliens considering impact of such action.


M is a personal physician to both king and queen. he asked the king for a favor, a formal declaration of king's protection. it surprised the king, and M explained that he helps in births regularly, and every time he helps a noble lady, being a commoner, he puts his life in danger. also, some of the old court medics don't like him much. the queen supports M's request and the king agrees. it would be very inconvenient if M died now. the queen suggest to add Z to his edict seeing how she is a young unmarried woman without family in foreign land and both a lady-in-waiting and you-know-what. some people hate her for her success. king is surprised by the suggestion, but it is indeed more than reasonable. no one dares to touch his woman. the edict is signed and published. M got an office consisting of three adjacent rooms, living room, inspection room and a laboratory. there is also a new guard post in front of it. the king sure values M


Z gifts a book to the queen. apparently she stumbled upon it on her long slow travel from transilvania. the book is very old, but in good shape. it's in french, the queen knows the language. there are lots of pictures. it's aliens' version of Kamasutra that they compiled based on their covert observation of people around the world, human literary sources and Z's experience with the king. queen barely can look at the pictures but she realizes that the book has some value to her. few days later she suddenly gifts her favorite earrings to Z without explanation. Z wears her new earrings constantly. it is noticed by anyone in the court with two brain cells to rub together. the queen loved those so much.


while looking old and normal in every way, the book is an amazing artifact of civilization that is thousands years ahead of humanity. there are tiny but powerful sensors in the book. neither text nor pictures are fixed. while at any moment the book is completely readable, AI knows which pages the queen didn't read yet and changes them as it sees fit, adjusting text to queen's reactions and interests. there is no table of content and handwritten text is not trivial to read, some sections are just too wild for her, so the queen doesn't have a good grasp on the book content yet. also, the pages are not numbered, just finding specific place in the book again is non-trivial. queen just likes what she read so far, a lot. it opens a new world for her. the book is highly scandalous though, even the queen wouldn't go unscathed if it is was dicovered. she keeps it in her cabinet under lock with most precious jewelry

once per day M inspects the queen. while she barely survived such humiliation the first time, she quickly got over it. Z, as her favorite lady-in-waiting, present as a chaperone and a moral support. there is not much need in it though, M is as professional as it gets. no dirty jokes, unnecessary touches or lingering looks, pure business. Z, on the other hand, just won't shut up. she is right behind the doctor, asking questions about the state of the child, his actions, tools and remedies he uses, or just praising the queen. everything is perfect about her apparently. her skin is silky smooth, her boobs are perfectly sized and shaped for king's hand, her ass is trim and plump, her cu** is tiny and beautiful. it distracts the queen. she doesn't hate it at all. no one ever said anything like that to her. it's embarrassing, but it makes her a little happy. sometimes Z asks M's to confirm her overtures and he, being completely consumed by work, responds with something absentminded and neutral, like  "yes, yes, indeed, the queen is beautiful. very fortunate bone structure, no obstruction of birth canal". from time to time Z shaves her and one day the queen asks her to show her how she looks down here. Z brings a mirror and the queen has a good look at her cu** for the first time in her life. Z is right, it looks rather neat. what she was so concerned about before? the queen's confidence in her body grows

queen is somewhat worried by the frequent invasive, even if careful and delicate, procedures, and eventually asks M if something is wrong with her. M explains that he wants to be absolutely sure that this time nothing goes wrong. because otherwise his life will be in very real danger. he promised that everything will be fine. the king and the people need this baby. the future, stability and prosperity of the nation are right here, in her belly. she is the most important person in this country, by far and he is honored to help her achieve her destiny. he checks for any signs of a problem. the drug supposed to make the birth faster and less painful, so he inspects the birth canal and adjusts the drugs accordingly. if she hates the inspections, they can make them less frequent or stop them altogether. the queen feels unfamiliar but delectable pride swelling in her. though still completely naked, she straightens up and thrusts out her chest. she replies that she completely relies on him in all medical matters and very thankful for his careful guidance. M is visibly flattered, he smiles and thanks her for her kind words. she should not worry about anything, he is on top of it. it will be a boy, and it will be absolutely perfect. the queen believes him wholeheartedly. she just knows everything will be perfect this time. she sighs happily. she loves this room. every time M makes an entertaining show of preparing the drug and it all looks very meticulous, scientific and reassuring. the drug is also amazingly sweet. queen thinks she may miss it when it's over. she starts to anticipate the inspections. there is something very comforting in M's demeanor and light, careful, warm touches. she doesn't feel exposed, she feels she is protected, even loved. she doesn't hate the inspections at all. she will do them as many times as necessary. she is so lucky M here

M's story is a blatant cynical lie, naturally. the queen doesn't need any drugs. QMs are perfect, setup once once they can work for centuries, adapting to changing conditions. or can fix the problem once and for all. they always work as intended. the queen's problems are fixed. absolutely nothing is wrong with her. the birth will be quick and painless. AI decided that queen's fear of being seen naked is detrimental to her relationship with the king. excessively strict defensive education routine put the idea that her body is a shameful pit of sin deep into queen's psyche. AI is determined to fix it no matter what. every time the queen gets naked for the inspection she is taken care of, incessantly praised and gets a tasty treat. it's primitive, but people are primitive creatures. very soon the queen will be as fierce and bold as Z in her nightly adventures. also, there is a benefit of training her to rely on M and Z. M can't be her doctor if she doesn't trust him. the king wasn't happy about the request for the inspections, and M has hell to pay if something goes wrong. one queen's complaint - and he is in jail, beheaded maybe. not that android has anything to fear, but it is a major setback for the mission. the queen is young, but her time is precious and her mind just can't take another failure. everything will be fine though. QMs slowly build new androids within the queen's womb. the real kids are growing in an artificial wombs in alien's facility in antarctic. eventually androids will be "born" and replaced with the real kids. aliens don't put anything to chances. the queen can slip on a ladder or catch flu, it will not hurt the babies. the pair will have the ideal sons on the first try. there is no doubt. the androids don't try to authentically represent all effects of pregnancy on the queen's body, just enough to convince people that she is pregnant. so, while the queen is greatly inconvenienced by the ruse, she is having a very easy pregnancy in comparison with a natural one

the inspection room is opulent and very secure. no one but the queen, M and Z ever enter there. the door is barred, so no one can just stumble in. there is guard outside and, unknown to anyone, AI sensors all around. no one can get close to the door. the queen feels safe there. initially relieved by M's professionalism, it starts to annoy her. what, he thinks she is not attractive? she mulls it over for about a week and asks M directly. he replies that his assistant midwives suck him off right before the inspection, so he can remain calm in view of queen's unbelievable beauty. that surprises the queen, but it allies her worries. M is a scoundrel though, who knew?

the queen goes through Z's book and finds in educational and entertaining. there is a section about pregnancy, birth and recovery, and what she reads makes a lot of sense to her. the contrast with the horrifying nonsense she heard and endured from her midwives before is jarring. birth is clearly dangerous, but the danger is very manageable. she and her baby are safe. she hesitates to show the scandalous book to M. when she tells Z about it, she just laughs and says that M seen more than the queen can imagine and nothing can ever shake him. also, he absolutely never would tell anyone anything his patient reported in confidence. M's professionalism and care earned him queen's utmost trust and respect. he is her doctor, and this is pregnancy-related, so there is nothing wrong with it. she shows him the page with basic diagrams of kid's growth.

turns out it was his book once. he found it after many years of research and it always stood out to him as the best, albeit unknown to public, work on pregnancy in existence. pity it can't be printed, the church would never allow it. also, there are just too many pictures there, printing them would cost fortune. the queen asked why would he give it to Z and he answered that when Z wants something she usually gets it. she is hard to say no to. Z declared that such a great sex manual is wasted on him and she needs it much more. also, he doesn't need it anymore. he asks the queen to read any line from the book and without hesitation continues the fragment as if the book was right in front of him. the trick amuses the queen. M is glad the queen has it and encourages to read it with open mind. the naughty part of the book don't seem to cross his mind. the queen finds this part shocking, but interesting and sometimes even useful. some content is completely wild though, in some pictures there are two women, sometimes even just by themselves. this book is trouble

M reports to the king regularly. at one point he says that the queen will have triplets. the king throwns, triplets are known to be trouble. they barely ever survive, and if they do, they have multiple life long problems. M assures him that everyting will be fine, it will be 3 very healthy babies. he also has a strong suspicion all 3 will be boys. he recommends to keep this from the queen to not worry her unnecessarily


*
AI needs more androids. there is a problem though. both Z and M appeared from nowhere. they presumably traveled all over europe without staying anywhere for long. it works so far - no one tries to verify they story, the europe is in turmoil. but M's foreign status was frown upon during the palace vetting. it's good that his competence speaks for him. but AI will need more androids in the palace. they can't all be freshly minted people from europe. AI is prepared

english sweating sickness kills people all over the country. the disease is brutal. onset is rapid, high fever, sweating, often death within the first 24 hours. there is no cure. some people survive, sometimes they have memory loss or changes in behavior. not all of them are human. immediately after the heart stops, QM restarts it and start fixing the body. in parallel the body is rebuilt to the new specifications. within 2 hours deceased is a fully capable android under direct control of AI. sometimes aliens resurrect victims of crimes. on the battlefields of europe warriors miraculously survive horrific wounds, drop from the army to recover and head to england

aliens started converting the dead into cyborgs about 7 months before Z arrived to the palace. by now aliens have dozens of zombie agents. many of them achieved noticeable success since their rebirth. they repented their sins, started working harder, found hidden talents within them. they are good people on the right path. they can easily pass the royal palace vetting.


the king often complains about finances. Z says that she met a guy in the market district who can help. the king snorts. what does Z know about finances? but Z doesn't give up, she turns up her charm, and he reluctantly agrees to meet the peddler just to placate her. it's F, a foreign merchant who just happened to be in the capital. he is relatively young, handsome, but completely unrefined. a typical commoner. he does know a lot about money though. he advises the king about port fees - some of the goods are not taxed properly and foreign merchants make a killing on them. hmm. the king sends a servant to fetch the treasurer, T. T says it sounds interesting and that he will check it. F suggests to the king a large loan in exchange for exclusive right for mining a mountainous region in king's realm. well, that's not suspicious at all. according to T, nothing is mined there, it is a completely useless rocky area. too rocky even for herders. F still has a hunch that there is something there. his loss. extracting loaned money back from royalty is a risky business

naturally, T sends people to ask questions. the guy is from Genoa, owns a ship for 4 years, visits london somewhat regularly. arrived two weeks ago, sold his cargo of spices. in good standing with port authorities and local merchants. attends mass and donates to the church. nothing suspicious. amount of money he suggests is somewhat high for his background, but it's hard to cheat on this particular transaction, king's people can count money very well. the deal is signed and the money promptly delivered

a side note, aliens are a star traveling race. they could mine Mars, asteroids, ocean floor or even Sun itself. resources are everywhere. they could mine the mountains without showing any signs on the surface. gold is meaningless to them, they can have any amount if they wanted to, so F's mining activity is strictly for their england operation advancement. there is nothing alien in the mining operation itself, it is 100% authentic human with few simple yet efficient improvements F "seen abroad". also, mines are located in absolutely the best possible spots where resources are easy to mine for decades. aliens can easily scan the planet to the center of the core, so that much is trivial for them. F has undefined trade operations outside england and can bring in any amount of gold AI decides to infuse without fear of discovery. he doesn't throw money around though, merchant through and through, his respect to the coin is absolutely palpable. he is almost greedy and eventually king finds it difficult to get anything from him without giving something back, potentially more than he got. insolent commoner. but very useful

 
F reappears and declares to the king that he found gold, copper, iron and coal in the mountains and starting to hire miners immediately. he is going for gold first. it surprises the king as only few weeks passed. still, his share of the operation expected to be substantial and there is nothing required from him. his loan will be covered in a year or so. F seems to be competent, the money he lent are very real, so there is no problem. he will send an inspector to observe though.

apparently, before leaving F had a long session with T. they went through some papers, and now there will be more money in the treasury. turns out 4 guilds supplying the palace were robbing them blind. the candles they burn are unbelievably overpriced. the guilds have hell to pay now. and he have to get to the bottom of how these contracts were even signed. T says that F is surprisingly competent and enterprising individual. he suggested him a job, but F refused, no matter the salary. he said that he can make more by himself and T believes him. he suggests to give F permanent access to the court, royal defense, a room in the palace if he wants it. the king is surprised by his passion for a mere commoner. T explains that F's contribution into the treasury is already substantial, and his mere presence in the court likely to bring more. the king is amused but he loves money and it's not like T asks for much

the observer's reports are glorious and king can't help but smile reading them. he loves receiving these reports. there is a meticulously precise account for expenses, income, revenue and king's share. signed by both observer and F. it is strange, but he doesn't hate F's approach to money. he even starts to respect the greedy bastard a little bit.


the king had the strangest pillow talk with Z. apparently, she is an owner of 1/1000 of profits from F's mining deal and all other palace-related deals as a fee for the introduction to the king. that was shrewd. even the greedies of peddlest are vulnerable to her charm. 1/1000 from this operation is actually serious money. king can't help but to be impressed.


Z hires servants. her approach is rather non-traditional. the first one she hires is a semstress, D. who starts hiring people with a seamstress? her wardrobe immediately improves though, and remarkably so. her clothes always were somewhat unusual. she is a foreigner and it kinda explains it. she is also a palace trump, so people are not shocked by her frivolous eccentricity. the queen likes her style. it's bold and sexy. also, the clothes look practical and comfy. there are pockets! no one ever seen something so ingenious. she asks Z about it and she introduces her servant to her, D, an exceptionally skilled seamstress. she is very shy and reserved, but when it's about dresses - her eyes light up and she can work day and night without complaining. her charcoal sketches of the new designs are inspired and beautiful and she draws them so effortlessly. she probably could make good money as a painter. the queen gets new dresses. while more conservative than Z's, they are both regal and very convenient in the same time. they hide what should be hidden yet highlights the assets the queen has. the queen can wear and take them off without a help of servants, which is rather unusual experience for her. she enjoys the independence and privacy. the number of layers of cloth on her went from 8 to 2, in some places just one. scandalous. she almost feels herself naked. also, the new dresses are so light and soft. her old ones can't compare. the queen has a pushup bra and panties now. she wonders what a magical place transilvania must be

there is a minor flaw in D, her obsession over dresses is so great that she ignores everything else. she wants to fix every minor problem immediately. it is kinda rude. it's like she doesn't realize she is dealing with the queen. there is not a shred of decorum in her. the queen likes D though, her results are stellar and she is perfectly normal otherwise. also, she is laughably cheap, the queen has to insist to pay her what her work worth. she works very fast, the queen loves to observe her making the seams. the perfection, speed and confidence of her work are mesmerizing. D says it's a great honor for her to work for a queen and she will do her absolute best. amusing girl. pretty too.

the next hire makes more sense, it's a maid, P. a former prostitute who found God after being smothered by a client an inch from death. she was working in a church orphanage for few months before Z found her. she is frowned upon by the vetters due to her former naughty profession, but she nails the interview and Z insists that she wants to give her a chance. red wing is a big place and there is plenty of work for a maid. she is a hard worker and her manners are impeccable. even king is impressed by her service. she is also a beauty and, combined with an outfits made by D, is a hit among the court servants. she also cooks very well

one by one servants get hired.


the loyalist faction benefits immensely from Z's help. even though she is a woman and a concubine, she is just very good at manipulations and intrigue. also, she knows everything about everyone and deftly uses it. people trust her. both king and queen obviously like her. Z involves the queen into loyalist faction, she has more people around her now. while she has no formal power, her relationship with the king is nearly perfect now and, with Z's help, her moves in the court are shrewd and impactful.


a strangest thing happened to the queen. Z was helping her to dress up after the inspection. as usual, she expressed her admiration of the queens beauty. the queen is rather confident about her body lately. she doesn't extinguish the candles when the king visits anymore, D made her some rather scandalous night outfits which she likes a lot, and she even dared to go to king's bedroom without invitation few times. it went just fine. it downs on her that she never actually seen Z naked. she doesn't know the competition. she jokes about it, not too concerned really. Z touches something on her neck and her dress just falls down. she has only elegant boots and the collar on her. the queen gasps. the room is isolated, and M is consumed with the preparation of the cure. Z's body is perfect. she playfully turns around. as much as the queen is confident about herself, Z is in completely different league. not a single birthmark or blemish on her perfect skin. try as she may, the queen can't find a single flaw. Z gets her dress on. it must be witchcraft, thinks the queen. if she ever needs to get rid of Z, she can use it. she immediately regrets it, blushing profusely for such a disgusting idea. she just ask Z if she has a secret of some sort. Z points at M and says she didn't call him a miracle worker for nothing. she asks M is he still has pixy dust. M responds that he didn't spent any since that last time. the queen is puzzled. M gives her her cure and says he will be back. the queen gets the tasty medicine, too distracted to savor it. M returns with a small glass jar. there is some shining powder, just on the bottom. what is it - asks the queen.

it's an ingredient M stumbled upon during his travels. it belonged to an alchemist who died on his hand on a forest road. he was attacked by bandits and left for dead. M couldn't save him, but he made him comfortable and numbed his pain. the man said that there is something bandits didn't find and he wants M to have it. it were his last words. on his body was a small container with glowing powder and a journal with cryptic text. it took him years to figure out the cipher. many times he wanted to discard both items. but he finally read the journal. it was an instruction. at this moment he was traveling over europe with Z. she suggested to experiment on her. the instructions worked. miracles do happen. that's how Z become what she is now. i knew it was a witchcraft, thought the queen

what can it do, asked queen. anything, replied M. could you use it on me? M shakes the jar. there is almost nothing left. he can help her change herself in some little ways. also, it would take months, it would require diet, exercises and procedures. i would do anything, said queen. they discuss it further. the magic powder can increase her breasts or make them perkier, remove blemishes from her skin, change her face in any way she wants, make her taller or shorter, anything she can think of. the only problem is, there is too little of this stuff and there never will be any more. she has to chose what she wants. her options are very limited.

the queen decides not to raise the question of witchcraft. what would it cost me, she asks. M says that he will do it for free. it's not like he can open a business based on it. queen is a dear friend of Z and him and he can't think of better use for it. M brings in a large silver mirror he was working on from his lab, the queen disrobed again and stood in front of it. it took her almost an hour to finalize her choices. the changes will be small but impactful. she will not turn into Z, but she will have much more reasons for confidence.

obviously, there is no witchcraft. alien's tech could do almost anything, within minutes. but changes had to be small and gradual. they couldn't be obvious. queen's body changing with her pregnancy will help to hide them. M wasn't stingy and the queen eventually got most of her desires. until the last drop of pixy dust was used.

the king and queen are completely reconciliated. her pregnancy is more than obvious now. she never had it going that far before, stillborns happened long before that, they were easy to hide. the royals are full of hope. also, the queen is not really all that shy anymore. she is somewhat shameless, just as Z promised. she is playful, she uses some weird but sexy night outfits, she takes initiative and fun to be in bed with. they talk a lot, discussing their recent enmity. both regret it now. the king asks her about the inspections, and she says that she kinda enjoys them now. it surprises the king. queen's jealousy toward Z is almost completely gone. she is a dear friend of hers

nobles plan a rebellion. it is not directly inspired by Z's actions, but she did contribute to discontent of some nobles. their goal is to take the capital and depose the king. they start assembling troops. F, who now can attend the court, warns the king in private that merchants notice some worrying price changes. troops are gathering somewhere in the north. it is mostly obvious why, it was brewing for a long time. king sends his spies and his suspicion is confirmed. war is coming. king's council assembles, preparation for war started. it is still a secret but it won't last long. F gives him an additional loan, apparently the king "owes him one" now. insufferable commoner. Z has her own small squad recruited. she spends surprising amount of gold on it and her detachment looks fierce. she follows the king into the field. her equestrian mastery is impeccable. her outfit, as ever, scandalous. soldiers love it. in three weeks two armies converge for decisive battle. in the night before battle three mercenaries infiltrated rebel's headquarters and slaughtered most of high officer corps of the rebels. while they eventually attracted attention, they fought as demons and managed to escape, badly wounded but alive. headless army of rebels doesn't have will to fight. the rebellion is over, loyalist decisively won. king's enemies received a hit they can't really recover from - their upper echelon is wiped out. their army retreats without battle. the king meets the three heroes and makes them barons. they join king's inner circle. all three are androids


military achievements is the most traditional and honorable way to become a noble. no one is surprised by the king's decision. the king is inclined to listen to military advice of 3 new barons. it helps that they are young, handsome and affable lads, apparently mercenaries from eastern europe, some 2nd sons of nobles or such. at very least they have manners, are literary and know languages, so they are clearly not just some thugs or vagrants. he sends them to pacify the rebel's lands, mop out the rest of their houses and bring survivors to the king. thanks to dozens of zombie androids in the army they are very adept at controlling loyalist troops, quickly establishing chain of command and discipline. they have nearly prescient intuition about the enemy. the operation is a success, losses on both sides are minimal. two duke houses ceased to exist, families exiled, their lands joined king's realm, three more have new heads who swear loyalty to the king with a warning that their next infraction will be the last. they also pay a significant tribute to the king. surprisingly, the rebellion almost made profit for the king

military android N, one of the 3, advises the king to form a standing army. It's expensive, but with income from new territories and mines he can afford it. part of the troops will be provided by loyalists, for the rest of the nobles obligation of military support is replaced with a new tax. there are mixed feelings about that among nobles, but nothing comes out of it, king is going from win to win lately. N impresses the king - his ideas about the army are revolutionary. He becomes a marshall. standing army is organized. a few dozens of zombie androids produced from veterans quickly raise in ranks. with the benefits of AI control and surveillance there is nothing their enemies can surprise them with

the queen has three healthy boys. the fake kids androids perfectly emulate the real ones for few hours, then successfully replaced with the kids grown by aliens. M, Z and her servants look for them 24x7. the king visits often. with M's help the birth went very well and the queen is recovering fast. she is happier than ever. the queen suggests to give a title to M for all his troubles, king agrees. M is a baron too now. while the queen recovers, Z takes care of the king's needs. king's behavior significantly changed lately - there are no more scandals around him. after Z court starlets are just kinda bland, dumb and boring and his primary reason for cheating is addressed. the queen lately was also completely different in bed from her old dead fish impersonation. she has some new rather provocative bed attires, which is different because Z prefers the birth suit. while his relationship with Z is an open secret, there is surprisingly little drama around it. queen's apparent friendship with Z, while throws a shade on her in court, seems to benefit her immensely. Z is very deferential and devoted to king and queen and polite to everyone. it is also known that making an enemy of her is a bad idea, she is a favorite of the king and has his ear. her tongue lashing is brutal, her quick wit makes it resonate in the court for days. it's easy to be friendly with her though, she is not prickly or arrogant. also, she is so pretty and graceful people subconsciously want to see good in her even if she is an opponent. with the birth of the heirs bringing the queen new prominence people prefer to ignore the whole thing. nothing good would come from meddling into it

a side note, it might be a good place to insert a scene where the kingdom rejoices and an alien is puzzled about the reason. AI explaining him the concepts involved might be fun. alien finds human traditions unnatural and stupid and says AI that he is wasting time and resources. AI responds that he just doesn't get it and everything is going very well. they split, mutually disappointed. the alien can be a repeating character that pops up in key moments and talks shit to AI. it can be an alien kid "only" 312 years old and for that reason failing to grasp the meaning of AI's grand scheme. he can give malicious orders to AI on purpose, turn off important equipment, mess up the surveillance devices - be a gremlin for AI.


the queen spends a lot of time with her kids. Z's servants taking care of the boys and the queen, they impress her with level of knowledge, care and attention. the kids barely cry. birth of a heir muted most of queen's concerns. she talks with Z a lot. her jealousy went down to the point they compare notes about king's night performance. sometimes Z tells her about their recent escapades and shows related page in the book, scandalizing, challenging and amusing the queen. Z helps the queen to decipher some difficult parts in the book. both have fun with it.

the king has free money now. F jokes that a king having free money means he is doing something wrong. M suggests public works in the capital to improve water supply and handle waste better. king agrees. F suggests to invest into navy ships. there is new world in the west. F already manages two shipyards and seems to plan to build his own trade fleet. sometimes king muses just how huge F's empire will grow. F built a house in the capital. he says that his acquaintance with the king makes it a superior base of operation for him


T is curious about Z's manor, so once he asks her about it. apparently a guy named S is managing it now and she got about 20% more income from it than the king did. T is curious and asks for details. few days later he receives a report from S that details changes, expenses and income. it is somewhat strange accounting system, double entry accounting which puzzles him initially, but makes a lot of sense when he gets it. tenants' fields are reassigned and reorganized, they have less land now but their food security is guaranteed by S - they get part of his harvest. no one will starve. they are paid for their work on manor's land. all income and expenses are accounted for and F's company handles the harvest sell. another major changes are four-field rotation, more horses in manor's possession, better ploughs and seeds. he invites S to london for a talk

apparently S was managing lands of a small duchy in HRE until it was destroyed by war and epidemic. barely surviving the disease, he decided to travel europe and look for good job somewhere else. he met Z in london. they talked and she hired him to manage her manor. he expects income to grow some more as all the improvements he implemented in the manor pay off

with Z's permission T sends to manor inspectors and they confirm S's claim. tenants seem to appretiate the changes. T asks S if he could improve productivity of the shire that includes manor and he responds that he could, by about 25-30% if he was given power over the king's servants there. after discussion with the king, T assigns him a sheriff of the shire