277 All Eyes on Eden

Aron and Rina's conversation continued as they toured the skies of Avalon Island before heading to Edenia.

"It's quite surprising how fast Eden started mixing with other countries. It even managed to join the UN, though that seemed to have been made easier with your discovery of oil," Rina said.

The UN Security Council had acted with surprising speed when approving Eden's application, especially since Russia and China knew nobody else would be allowed to harvest the Edenian and Esparian oil fields.

"Well, there's a reason they call it black gold, after all. It's pure wealth and power, and it all boils down to how much we can produce. The more we can produce, the better we can stabilize the global market if a crisis arises in the OPEC nations," Aron responded as he expertly piloted the helicopter.