advisory surveys for DeBeers mining research. But why would surveying teams need so many staff members with the Talent?
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Lei Kung>
Don’t forget hiring all the sherpas they can find to do cross- mountain treks, smuggling in teams via air (hell, I wouldn’t put it past them to be digging a damn tunnel in, if they thought they could get away with it.)>
Himalaya Playa’>
Remember when I mentioned earlier that Shin Qao Hien was selling mining rights to the land under his control? Well, nearly all the buys trace back to front companies and shells owned by Mitsuhama. There is more to that relationship than just mining deals, if you ask me.>
Hei YuTHE STEWARDS OF TIBET
Two stewards oversee Tibet until the 16th Dalai Lama can be found. Fortunately for us, these two advisors are preoccu- pied with their own affairs and rarely agree, a weakness we can exploit. The first of these two figures is the 12th Panchen Lama, Jangbu Tak-Shin. The “Great Scholar,” as his title means, is tra- ditionally the tutor for the young Dalai Lama, but for now he is essentially running the nation. He is a stern old man who grew up in the Buddhist resistance. From his seat of power in the city of Shigatse, he argues a strict isolationist agenda for Tibet. He believes that the outside world contains only hardship for Tibet and that the monasteries should investigate how to reinforce and strengthen the Cloud.
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Just before the Awakening, there was a bit of lama drama going on. There were two 11th Panchen Lamas: the one the Chinese put forward and the one the Tibetans claimed was the true lama, who ended up dying mysteriously under Chinese house arrest in 2010. The death of the young lama is what prompted the 14th Dalai Lama to return to Tibet, though the impeccable timing of his return just before the appearance of the Cloud has made people wonder if he knew what was going to happen.>
People WatcherHis paranoia is a concern for our efforts, but even more alarming is the secret Buddhist sect he is said to have found- ed. The Diamond Eye Sect is looked upon as a myth, but I fear they are more than that. They supposedly believe that a pure path to Enlightenment for Tibet means a world free of distrac- tion and suffering, and so it is whispered that they take it upon themselves to patrol the borders of the nation and keep out anything the Cloud might miss. The Diamond Eye monks have achieved a sort of quiet hero worship among the Tibetans, who consider them demon hunters. It is said that people trying to intrude on Tibet are among the least dangerous things they combat at the borders.
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Like that “mountain-sized fire elemental” that witnesses claim destroyed a train and killed 122 Han who were trying to leave Tibet for Gansu in 2055? I guess there’s a reason the trains haven’t operated in Tibet since the nation sealed itself off.>
MoleThe other steward, the Nechung Kuten, is even more of a mystery. Nyimabumo, whose name means “Daughter of the Sun,” is the State Oracle of Tibet. Traditionally, she delivers annu- al prophecies while possessed by Dorje Drakden, the protector spirit of the nation, and advises the Dalai Lama on spiritual mat- ters. She is extremely private and only rarely makes appearances at the capital city of Lhasa to deliver the prophecies or to try to influence the Tibetans to be more open toward the outside world. Her last prophecy foretold that the 16th Dalai Lama would be Tibet’s bridge to the outside world, so she has been trying to pre- pare the people for that eventuality. Most of her time is said to be spent at her retreat at the base of Mount Kailash or in deep study of the Maya Cloud, with which she seems very concerned.
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Mount Kailash is a holy site to a number of Eastern religions and is also called Mount Meru, which is seen as the center of the universe in Eastern cosmology. Even the Hopi Amerinds consider Mount Kailash to be the other pole of their Black Mesa, which together form the spine of the world.>
OtomoNyimabumo is unmistakable in her appearance. She tow- ers over other Tibetan women and is strikingly beautiful, with her black hair tied back in a single long braid and unusual eyes that are the color of the bronze monastery bells. Her history is unusual too; it is said that she appeared suddenly among the Buddhist resistance in 2038 with the full backing of the 15th Dalai Lama, who claimed that she descended to him from the sun in the palm of a radiant dragon. The rumors about her are numerous: she has not aged a day since her appearance, she floats above the earth never touching the ground, and she is a powerful wujen who can turn stone into gold.