Chapter 74

The final day of the Council session brought the formal votes on continental issues—the actual business that theoretically justified the entire gathering, though Arianna suspected the real purpose was political networking and hierarchical posturing.

Gabriel called the assembly to order with traditional formality, then began presenting proposals that had been debated in various subcommittees over the past months.

"First matter: standardization of trade protocols across continental territories. The proposal suggests unified tariff structures, standardized contract enforcement, and coordinated dispute resolution for cross-territorial commerce."

The debate that followed was remarkably tedious—various Alphas arguing about specific percentage points in proposed tariff rates, concerns about how standardization would affect smaller packs,...