She was a Lucker, a very strong one, but born in a Deregger polity. She was also very beautiful. As a beauty and a Lucker, she was forced against her will - purchased from her parents who were desperate for money - to marry the empire's CEO. However, using that luck, all his other wives and their children managed to escape into the gentle arms of the CRC. And within a few years, SHE ran the empire with him as his subordinate. While he was the face, she was the true power "behind the throne". There was quite a few changes that came, an odd increase in profits due to those changes, and happier workers, due to "a bit of luck". -- Anon Guest
She came to the attention of CEO Randal Bepis because her family were winning prizes in the Unwinnable Lottery. The point of the lottery was to give hope without paying anything significant enough to engender social mobility. They could not have cracked the system because there was not one. An algorithm picked the most heart-warming of stories for the biggest of payouts and then chose some other random qualifiers for the lesser payouts.
Something like ten lesser payouts in a row should have been impossible. Therefore the whole family was investigated and tested.
Her name was Portence, a result of a typo in the administrivia section. The family was too poor to fix it. In fact, they were spending their lottery winnings on necessary things. Just enough to cover a bill or two, or pay for some nutrition, and not much else.
It was the best luck she could give them.
Her life, and the fate of this particular Deregger polity, hinged on the roll of loaded dice. It should have rolled Snake Eyes. She rolled sevens. Every time.
She was seven when he married her, added to the harem of beautiful wives in a gilded cage. Taken on "dates" where it was her job to hang on his arm and change the whims of fate in his favour. Other wives threw themselves in his way when it came time for the bedchamber. They were good at it.
She repaid them by making sure they could get away. He would never notice the loss. All he paid attention to was what he gained.
So much so that he let her manage the paperwork. After all, he paid for her physical augmentation, and he liked conversation, so he also paid for her education. Portence was already paid in room, board, and spectacular outfits. He could save a lot of money using her for his greater good.
He never even noticed when she gained a controlling interest in his polity. He was still nominally in charge but, thanks to doublespeak, not many people noticed that his announcements began to match with what they meant. Especially not him.
Dereggers, by name, did not like regulations. Therefore, Portence put in motion work initiatives. Paying people to install infrastructure, repair the bed-sits most people rented at eighty percent of their wages. Paying people to deliver Nutrient Bonuses to various slums.
It was the lowest order of Nutri-Food, all the necessary ingredients and none of the flavour. The louder the poor complained, the more the Media liked it.
For the first time in centuries, unemployment was at an all-time low.
With a little bit of influence, Portence got the Media to start talking about the Right to Health. It didn't take much to get Dereggers angry. Just let them know their rights, and everything else followed.
Thus, the next stage was the Greater Health Initiative. Making certain everyone had access to medicine at rates they could afford. Subsidized by the generous and benevolent hand of CEO Randal Bepis. All Hail His Great Fortune.
The people loved it. They loved him. They had no idea that his favoured wife was running the show, cribbing notes from the Alliance and translating what they did into terms the Dereggers could accept.
As part of the Greater Health Initiative's Stress Reduction Program, rent was also subsidized. Anywhere else would call it Universal Basic Income. Dereggers didn't like anything that looked like handouts. But if it was part of their rights, they would picket to demand it.
They never truly noticed that Portence was changing them into an Alliance-influenced polity.
She was lucky that way.
[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / suti]
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