Gaia nodded. [I ran four filters through the entire Akashic Record database, each time selecting for a different quality that would benefit the empire specifically, as well as humanity in general. First was loyalty, second was their opinion of the empire, third was ambition, or in less polite terms, corruptibility, and fourth was how motivated they would be to benefit humanity by bettering the lives of the people. The ones that filtered to the list in front of you are the ones that scored in the 90th percentile or higher in all four categories, with at least one in the 95th percentile or higher.]

"What happened to the rest of the candidates?" Jeremy wondered.

[That depends. The majority of them were assigned to lower positions in the various agencies, but a few were passed to Nyx for further investigation and monitoring. We may be able to know everything there is in a person's head, but the imperial code doesn't cover thoughtcrime. But that doesn't mean we can't predict the likelihood of people violating imperial law in the future and bump them up to a higher threat category that requires stricter monitoring.]

"Well, I'm glad there aren't any Eurasian spies among our citizens, at least," Jeremy said in a wry tone. He had come to terms with living in a totalitarian state, he'd thought, but every now and then something someone said would throw him for a loop and remind him of the absurdity of his current environment. And Gaia's Orwellian reference to thoughtcrime had been one of those loop-throwers. 'At least the empire actually cares for the people,' he thought. 'And besides, if I have to live in a totalitarian state, at least I'm one of the leaders, right?'

Nova caught that on her monitoring subroutine and gave Jeremy a nod with a bright smile on her face. [All of our regulations and actions are aimed at preventing exactly the kind of corruption you fear to see happen in the empire, Jeremy. The emperor himself even implemented checks and balances on imperial power and authority that give people an out in case our leadership goes insane with the sheer power and authority at their fingertips.]

"I know, it's just... suddenly having the curtain pulled back and seeing the man behind it is still something of a shock. Anyway," he cleared his throat, bringing himself back on topic, "I'll have the positions assigned within the next two weeks. I have to do something to earn my keep, after all." He grinned.

"Excellent. I look forward to seeing the results," Aron said. "What's the next order of business, Nova?"

Nova simply looked at Youssef. He had spotted the problem even before he had access to the information now at his fingertips, so she would let him be the one to report it.

"Public simulation exploitation. Employers are moving their companies to the public simulation and forcing workers to work in the time-dilated virtual offices, while only paying them based on the real life equivalent. So they've effectively cut their salaries by 50%, either by forcing them to work twice as many hours or paying them for only half the hours worked," Youssef reported.

"Suggestions?" Aron asked him. He had an idea in his mind, but would let the newly minted minister suggest his own. If it was a good enough idea, he wouldn't mind implementing it instead of his own, likely far more draconian, policy.

"Fines and laws. I read through the imperial code and didn't see anything in it dealing with wages and workers' rights. So I suggest a percent-based fine of the employers' net worth-say... 1O%-and have it enshrined in the imperial code that employers must pay an hour's wage for an hour's work, regardless of whether that work is done in a virtual environment or not. This is to be done in conjunction with having the exploited periods wages payed to the workers."

Aron nodded. The fine was lower than he would take, but Youssef's suggestion was otherwise in line with his thoughts. "And what would the penalty be in the code for repeat offenders?"

"Increasing levels of fines up to 50%, depending on the severity and number of times the fines have been levied, and penal labor gangs or military conscription for the worst offenders. Since we can detect intent, we may as well use that as the guideline."

"Excellent suggestion, Minister Al-Mutairi," Aron praised. "Gaia, get with Minerva and update the imperial legal code. Identify the people currently in violation of the code and issue them a warning, plus push a press release to all media outlets introducing the new law. It's important enough to let everyone know about it, not just those who are currently affected by the issue. Don't be afraid to name names if there are any particularly egregious violators out there.

"Also, find a few companies that have excellent reputations-and aren't mine-and name them as exemplars. Give them an official good citizenship citation and award them a few tangible benefits to encourage others to fall in line with them."

"Your Majesty, speaking of employment law, I have a suggestion," Jeremy interjected.

"Go ahead."

"I suggest we implement an empire-wide minimum wage focused on actually being a livable wage. A single person requires a minimum of 500 END to maintain a subsistence-level existence that covers all of their absolute necessities. So a 40 hour workweek should cover at least that much, plus some for luxuries and savings."

Aron nodded, then held up his hand and sank into deep thought for a few moments. He came out of his thoughts and turned to Nova. "That's doable. Calculate a minimum wage and publish it as a press release of its own to be released after the first employees' rights act release."

[2.50 END per hour should be fine,] Nova said.

"Make it happen," Aron agreed. "Any other internal issues before we move on to military matters?"

"Population," Youssef immediately said. "We need more people. Even with 7.5 billion people, Earth isn't fully populated and can still sustain a much higher population... especially with the technology at our disposal. So if we're to colonize the solar system, much less the distant stars, we need more people."

"Excellent suggestion, Minister. I'll leave it up to you. Bring me a fully fleshed-out proposal in two weeks at our next regular meeting," Aron ordered.

"Understood, Your Majesty." Youssef relaxed in his chair and began considering things that would stimulate another baby boom as the meeting turned to military matters.