Carinhall estate, Schorfheide Forest.
"Wir sind hier, Fräulein," said the driver. We are here, Miss.
Helga opened up her eyes in the dark of night, took one more sip of her wine before simply tossing it away and stepped out of the car. She took one deep breath before bearing witness to the refurbished Carinhall estate, a simple lodge where the leaders of the old SS decided to meet all together for the second time this year, the previous one being before the opening of the Gate. It was terribly demeaning for people who held such respect in the now-defunct Schutzstaffel to be forced to meet in a rural area in an estate owned by one of their former officers, but at least wasn't hard to bribe the guards.
Helga wished the meeting could have been held in somewhere of higher regard. She wished the meeting could have taken place in Wewelsburg, a castle of stone and wood that withheld the treacherous Wehrmacht until its dying breath, but it was simply too obvious for the Kaiser's men. Plus, it would have brought all of the Kaiser's enemies in a single place where they could have been eliminated completely, bringing the Nazis to their knees, thus, it needs to be in a small, concealed area where Wehrmacht forces aren't patrolling as much.
Once, the building belonged to Helga's former friend, Hermann Göring, now it belongs to one of the lesser officers. It almost made her shudder a tear when she was reminded of the one who almost gave her the push she needed to be among Goebbels, Himmler and Keitel, speaking directly to the man she wanted to impress the most.
Of all the people who were in Hitler's inner circle, only one was still alive, hiding in Germany, not daring to escape when every airport and shipping lane was looking for his face.
When Helga walked up the front gate, she could hear the talks, if one could call a bunch of arguing old men that, happening right now before she even got to the front door. Her chauffeur was the one to walk forward and knock on the door before walking back to the car. When the door opened, a man of strong and evidently young features walked out into the night and gave Helga a big smile.
"Hermann Fegelein," Helga greeted, shaking her old comrade's hand. "Ich sehe, Sie haben es geschafft, Görings Wohnsitz nach dem Krieg zu beanspruchen? Es ist schön zu sehen, dass Sie endlich Grund gesehen haben, sich wieder auf unsere Seite zu wenden." I see you managed to claim Goering's residence after the war? It's good to see that you've finally seen reason to come back to our side.
Fegelein said, scornfully, "Das ist ein Fehler, den ich korrigieren möchte. Die Royalisten haben uns die Chance verpasst, ein Reich der Schönheit aufzubauen, also werde ich sicherstellen, dass sie es auch tun." That is a mistake I seek to rectify. The Royalists lost us the chance to build an empire of beauty, so I will make sure they do as well.
Helga was let inside and was immediately greeted by five of her former comrades in the foyer, right outside a closed-door with sounds of arguing from the other side. Sepp Dietrich was one she recognised more than the others present.
After exchanging pleasantries, Helga looked around and saw a specific someone wasn't present for the meeting.
"Wo ist der Chef?" Helga asked. Where is the boss?
"Er kommt nicht, er sieht es wichtiger als das Treffen, seine Männer versteckt zu halten." Sepp Dietrich answered. He isn't coming, he views keeping his men hidden more important than the meeting.
It wasn't at all unusual the true Reichsführer himself wouldn't attend any of their meetings. He was always concerned about hiding both himself and the last of the Honour Guards, which makes sense since Wilhelm offered no exception for both, calling for their immediate execution.
In truth, nobody knows where they are truly hiding but it certainly is in Germany. Helga knew she couldn't convince the remaining Honour Guards, who swear fanatical loyalty and unquestioning obedience to the leader of the Reich, to join her side just because she holds high influence and would even try to have her killed if she was to declare herself the new führer, so had to rely on their leader's covert support to have any chance at leverage on the Reich.
Sepp continued, "Ich glaube, der Rest unserer Gefährten wartet auf uns, Helga. Wir können sie nicht warten lassen." I believe the rest of our companions are waiting for us, Helga. We cannot keep them waiting.
Helga snorted. "Wenn es nicht ausreicht, mit verärgerten alten Männern an einem Tisch zu sitzen, die Pläne für die Zukunft besprechen, anstatt tatsächlich das zu tun, was wir sagen, um sie für eine Weile zu beschäftigen, dann würde ich es sicherlich vorziehen, mich an einem Fasan zu erfreuen, bevor ich durch diese Türen gehe." If sitting around a table with disgruntled old men who discuss plans for the future rather than actually doing what we say is not enough to occupy them for a while, then I certainly would prefer to enjoy myself to some pheasant before going through those doors.
Fegelein looked distressed. "Ich weiß, dass sie sprechen können, aber das gibt mir zumindest Hoffnung." I know they can speak, but at least that gives me hope.
"Wenn das den kostbaren Hermann glücklich macht, dann tritt beiseite und lass mich dir zeigen, was ich meine." If that makes precious Hermann happy, then step aside and let me show you what I mean.
As soon as Helga entered, everything was quiet. At a large table in the centre of the dining area converted into a meeting place sat exactly twenty men of various high ranks while sixty-four lesser officers stood around. Each of them shared the common goal of reuniting all those who remained loyal to the true Germany and continue their fallen leader's dream by any means necessary.
Helga, as the highest-ranking among them in both the Wehrmacht and the former Schutzstaffel, not including the boss, was to be seated at the far end of the table near the portrait of Adolf Hitler, clearly identified by the silver goblet and a bottle of wine on the table. Victor came to her side as Wittmann sat on her right.
Sitting down one end of the table, Helga asked without a proper introduction, "Hat Jodl unsere Bitte angenommen, sich uns anzuschließen?" Has Jodl accepted our request to join us?
"Gar nicht, Helga," Gottlob Berger answered. Not at all, Helga.
"Er bat uns, ihn nicht zu kontaktieren und drohte mit einer bevorstehenden Exposition. Wir brauchen einen neuen Kandidaten für einen Insider," Sepp added. He asked us not to contact him and threatened impending exposure. We need a new candidate for an insider.
For once, Helga didn't feel the need to touch the goblet. Nothing but anger filled her already clouded mind at such a short answer.
"Gibt es dort einen einzigen Kommandanten, der kein Feigling ist!?" Helga growled, throwing the wine bottle on the ground. Is there a single commander there who isn't a coward?!
Everyone around her shared the same pain as any true National Socialist. Their dreams of building an empire that stretched from Alsace-Lorraine to beyond the Volga were shattered with no true way to return. If only the Wehrmacht's dissatisfaction with the rule of the führer and their laughable honour didn't outweigh the grand vision of the future. Now, their own former officers have chosen to accept defeat rather than continue the fight.
The belief that the Nazis' built a secret empire in the fatherland is far-fetched from the truth, even when most of the people of Germany are furious with the fact that victory could have been in their reach. It was simply something that they made the Kaiser believe. They were, in reality, nothing more than a bunch of disgruntled ex-soldiers, politicians and investors who still hold onto the name. Just as long as the people around the table kept offering their scientists, kept themselves hidden from the public eye and bribed officials with whatever gold they "borrowed" from Jewish families, the last of the true Reich will not pass into history yet.
Sepp continued, "Vielleicht sollten wir uns mit in Verbindung setzen-" Maybe we should get in touch with-
"Nein!" Helga screamed. "Keine Rekrutierung mehr! Was wir jetzt haben, ist so weit wie wir in dieser Welt der Verräter kommen!" No more recruiting! What we have now is as far as we can go in this world of traitors!
"Sie sind unser höchstes Mitglied in diesem Meeting, wir warten auf Ihre Bestellungen," Gottlob told. You are our highest member in this meeting, we are waiting for your orders.
Helga stuck her face down for a moment, begging herself not to reveal what she has planned, but looking back up at the faces of her fellow party members, she knew they had lost hope in the cause. At worse, the men were putting their hope in someone of the gender that should be at home being a housewife, truly showing how much they had fallen in the past two years. If she was still a Gruppenführer, she would have them all killed for displaying pitiful defeatism, but just like before, times have changed. She knew she had to make it clear.
In merely a few seconds, Helga returned to her natural state and slumped herself back in her chair, shocking even the people who knew her very well.
"Now, if you would indulge me, I would prefer we all can converse in English," Helga requested, earning her confused glances from the table.
"What for, Fräulein?" Fegelein asked, showing no such hesitation for such an unorthodox command, only loyalty.
"I know for sure that practice makes perfect," Helga said nonchalantly.
"Practise of what, Helga?" asked Sepp, following Helga's commands instantly. "I know beyond the portal they speak a language very close to Englisch, but it doesn't mean we can speak it now."
"I know that for a certainty, dear Sepp." Helga chuckled, pulling herself on the table and putting herself into a seductive stretch.
She then started to get herself down and move slowly around the table, massaging each officer as she whispered sweetness laced with lust into their ears. She moved so slowly that the servants had time to clean the spill on the floor and bring out a new bottle of vintage red wine. The redness of most of the officers meant the tactic was working.
"Perhaps I should indulge in the fact that the English language was first derived from Germanic languages brought over to Britannian shores before being reinvented by the Normans. But please, indulge in the language of our enemies. Please? For me?"
When she came around to putting her hands around Oskar Dirlewanger, she was only greeted with a snarl from the man.
"Your seductive techniques would certainly bring the weak-minded Wehrmacht officer to his knees but do not try it here," Oskar groaned, bushing Helga's hands-off when she came around.
"Who said I was flirting? I am just stretching."
"Then stop it and just get to the point! My men are not going to wait for you just so you can play that stupid whore technique upon us!"
Helga groaned and returned to her seat. "Remind me not to go to any of your men for fun."
"You aren't my type, Helga."
Helga sniggered. "Oh yeah, I forgot your type were little girls. Don't think I don't know what you did during the war with your army. What I have heard, the Boss himself would have spit out his food after hearing about the mass rapes and the burnings done by the magnificent Dirlewanger Brigade."
Despite all eyes being on him, Oskar's face didn't morph at all from his basic expression nor did he offer up an sort of defence. He just sat there twiddling his thumbs, ignoring the disgusted glares of his feelings officers.
Helga continued, "But, I guess that is the sort of thing that our great leader wanted when he recruited you into our glorious black order: to cause pain and destruction. A task only befitting an army of convicted criminals."
"Forget about him, Helga," Gottlob told, "get to the point rather than playing your stupid games."
Grunting, Helga said, "I came here to inform you that we don't need to hide anymore. In fact, we can rise again without cutting the head off the Reich."
At that, everyone sat forward and listened in to Helga, their blue eyes bright. Helga was always the one with the plans that weren't as rash as the suggestions of the hardliners, at least when she was discussing their future in the Reich, so it made sense to listen to her plans first.
"What could you possibly mean?" asked Herbert Gille. "Are you proposing a coup?"
"Do we have the power for that sort of thing?" Sepp chimed.
"I am referring to what is beyond the Gate," Helga told, garnering everyone's interest. "I have been there and have seen the refined beauty of a world untouched by any form of industrialisation. The local population is primitive, still using swords and arrows, with nations that are completely decentralized. Whenever our panzers approach, they flee like rats. The sound of a gun is enough to waver entire units. And, here's the best part, they are caught in an age of complete civil disobedience, all thanks to a power-hungry young emperor who brought his entire empire into a suicidal war."
"Alright," Sepp sighed, "but what does that have to do with our situation right here in our world, right now?"
Suddenly, Helga sniggered for a moment before saying, "I propose we gather every single resource we have, every man, woman, and child who shares our ideals, and focus on building ourselves a new empire on the other side of the portal."
Just like that, the whole room was caught within a tirade of arguments among the officers, all directed towards Helga for her outlandish suggestion, who simply sat twiddling her thumbs and yawning as the yelling continued. Many of them were out of their own seats, daring to point the finger at Helga and mock her, which the girl quickly ignored. The only thing that put a stop to it was Victor slamming his fist on the table, making everyone return to their seats.
"Helga," Sepp spoke up, folding his arms across his chest, relaxing in his seat as if he was about to call out an ignorant person, "do you really mean to abandon our home to go beyond some unknown portal?"
"I have considered it many times after I managed to construct Germania from beyond the Gate. What I propose is not a country, but an entire planet. Think about it for a moment and you will see this as an opportunity we simply cannot pass up."
The murmurs started to continue.
Sepp continued, saying, "The entire goal of our resistance is to-"
"Times have changed, Sepp," Helga admitted. "How long must we keep hiding before you realize that we are fighting for a lost cause? How long is it until the Kaiser grows a pair and realises that it would actually be for the best to kill us all when he gets the chance? We will never take back the Fatherland. But perhaps there is a way to survive and that way is through a portal to another dimension, to another planet where the local populace cannot resist."
"I can't believe this," Sepp groaned. "Of all the people to promote defeatism, you'd be the last."
"Perhaps she is right," Michael Wittmann suggested.
"No, she's not!" Ernst Boepple told. "This is our home! Our birthplace and symbolic homeland! You cannot expect us to abandon all of it just to go
"Oh, so what then, hmm?" Helga snarled. "Do you want to try our hands at earning our place back in the game of politics as Goebbels did before his execution? Continue our original plan and recruit so little to our cause to be barely enough to lead a coup? Flee to Argentina as that coward Eichman did?"
"Is that why you wanted to see what was beyond the Gate?" Ernst growled. "We used the resources we had to get the Wehrmacht to simply let you go into that expedition, you come out after a few months and now you are telling all of us to go in with you?"
"That place could be a death trap!" Sepp chimed. "There are literally dragons, beastmen and magicians on the other side of the Gate!"
"I know that. I personally came face to face with magic on the train by that short, pointy-hated bitch. I have to admit that even I am impressed. Even still, nothing can match the gun, even magic."
"Even with that fact, you still want us to march in with no-"
Helga's fist slammed into the table. "Not another word!"
The room fell silent.
Helga continued, "The Kaiser had for two years believed that we have enough power to overthrow him from within his throne. He will agree to any demand we make. Before he can discover the truth, we need to use it as best we can. The best we can do is move as many of our resources and supporters over to the other side so we can be able to build ourselves a new Reich. A better Reich."
"What makes you think we would be able to forge such a nation from beyond a dimensional portal?" Sepp demanded.
"The people of the Continent have no weapons of any sort that can match us at all. If we can get the Wehrmacht officers to leave, then all we need to do is pull out the most devastating blitzkrieg in history, one that would wash a fire over the land, making it fertile land for the true master race to inhabit."
Thinking about it with more clarity, everyone in the room started to see what Helga was preaching. A land with inhabitants that can't fight back is a land ripe for the taking. If they happened to be successful in their endeavour, then they'd not get just an entire continent but an entire planet!
"Perhaps we should vote?" Odilo Globočnik suggested.
Helga looked at the Gruppenführer with discontent. "I'm sorry, I thought we represented the true Reich, not the pathetic Weimar Republic. There will be no such vote on the matter, it is an order."
"But won't anyone try and stop us?"
Helga ground her teeth. "The only person who would try to stop us is Werner. Not implying he would actually stop us, but he would do everything he can to sabotage us."
"Werner?" Gottlob said, jumping. "As in, Werner Goldberg? The Jude we accidentally used as propaganda."
"I think it would be imperative that he be killed, Helga, because one man can create so many problems for our plans," Paul demanded. "All it takes is one man."
"I think you overestimate him, Paul," Helga sniggered. "If we play our cards right, then we would have gained access to an entire planet. For that, we need everyone, including the Boss's Honour Guards."
"You know the Boss won't agree to all of this, right?" Fegelein asked.
"Then he can stay on this side and mope about as our dream crumbles into dust around us. Times have changed and so must we. We cannot allow the thought of homeland to take control of us when the opportunity to forge ourselves an entire planetary government in a world away from the politics of this pathetic, cowardly world."
Everyone was given a moment of silence to process everything. Helga was certainly a convincing woman when she reveals her plans, but what she suggests can be attributed to defeatism. She accepts that they have lost the will to continue the struggle in the name of the Führer and now wants to run away to the other side of a portal. But, it was a better alternative to continue for years to come as a minor power until the Kaiser grows a pair and kills them off just like Stalin did to his own officers. Helga just might have the right idea.
"Tell me something, Helga," Sepp said, "why the hell are we speaking English?"
"The people on the other side of the Gate curiously speak it very fluently. How the hell they could ever develop the language of those island apes but that's beside the point. The point is, if we are to control an entire continent, we first need to get under the skin of the natives."
"Psychological warfare?"
"Exactly. Fear is the greatest weapon against such inferior opponents. It never let us down before. It will be our greatest weapon when we are on the other side of the Gate."
The room fell into a storm of debates yet again, this time between the officers who supported the notion and those who didn't have a care, showing the rising chance of a split in the leadership. The only thing Helga did was look over and wave at the servants to bring her more wine as she sat for minutes. The only one who was silent was Wittmann, who already agreed with the notion - which was more to say than the other officers who supposedly were loyal to Helga.
The only thing that put a stop to the debate was the scream of Helga combined with her slamming her fist on the table yet again.
"How about this," Helga groaned, showing signs of an outburst about to pop up, "how about we follow Odilo and have a show of hands for those who support the plan of moving ourselves to another world?"
Those in favour of her plan were outnumbered, only twenty-four officers raised their hands in favour of the deal. Helga slumped herself back down at just the audacity of those who would reject this opportunity to be the only people who exist in another world. Oskar, Wittmann, Sepp, Paul, Gottlob and Odilo were among those with their hands raised while the rest chose to abstain. Helga was angered at the other percentage's lack of vision, but she didn't need to worry about it soon.
"If this is the case, I want those who raised their hands to meet me near the barn. I have something to discuss with you. Those who don't, you may remain here and continue to debate amongst yourselves."
...
After Helga finished her meeting with those who supported her plan, she stood right in the driveway of the lodge, watching as her comrades drove away from the lodge in great haste. She lit a smoke and puffed it as she smiled as she continued to hear the officers who rejected her offer still arguing over things in the lodge.
Later, she was joined by Hermann Fegelein, who approached her from behind with a cigarette of his own, which Helga promptly lit for him.
"I see you are actually serious about moving us to another planet?" Fegelein inquired.
"Why not?" Helga said. "Every day, every night, I see our eventual demise upon us, staring at that black, red and white stripes of the imperialist banners. I hoped you and those other officers would have seen sense in such an idea, but I guess homesickness would have caught up from everywhere."
"It's simply an endeavour that none of us could afford to do. We would have to smuggle tons of equipment and men, which would be monitored by the Wehrmacht constantly. Plus, I don't see any reason moving us and our technology to another dimension so others could exploit it for their own use."
"Wasn't the technology from that portal in Bavaria from another dimension?"
Hermann jumped, placing his hand on Helga's mouth, until Helga bit it.
"You know we aren't supposed to ever speak about that," Hermann hissed. "We can never let the truth of our technology reach the ears of anyone on the outside, even our fellow officers! We made a blood pact that only those who bore witness in the few weeks can know the truth and I don't intend to break a promise to the Führer or the Reichsführer."
"I know, I was there, Fegelein," Helga groaned, revealing a scar on the palm of her hand, as she too made the oath with eighty-five other party members. "I know what we promised, but we were stupid to not make the use of the gift. I mean, those metal dogs obeyed us upon seeing the swastikas on our uniforms."
"I have no idea how it would have helped us, ever since we left a conspicuous facility in Bavaria which the Wehrmacht happened to exploit when they seized all territories in the west."
"Excuse me? It was my idea to make the technology from that portal spread thin across the nation immediately, but instead, the old men decided to release the technology in small numbers, hoping to shock the world when we march through Alsace-Lorraine with our beasts. I think I need not remind you what happened when the Wehrmacht did the exact same thing I wanted to happen upon us."
"I guess even we can make stupid mistakes."
"You can just tell me about it. I could have driven the Wehrmacht past Hanover if those panzerhundes didn't tear my men to pieces trying to cross River Leine."
"As long as the scientists keep giving the Kaiser that reverse-engineered technology, then we are safe from all harm. If they find out we have been lying all this time and that our scientists are actually worthless, then consider our protection as good as gone."
"I know that much, Fegelein. I know even more about how governments should be run."
Fegelein snorted. "And just what is that?"
"That you must eliminate any sort of opposition to your cause as much as you can, never minding at all about the short-term consequences when the long-term ones matter more."
"Then why do you want us to move to another dimension?"
"I simply see the opportunity that can not be passed up. I will require every able body who can help with this. Plus, I won't see Werner get any such power. He already has that royal bitch in his pocket as well as those long-eared freaks. He will be put in his place as all his kind should have."
"Then may Gott help us all."
"Gott?" Helga chuckled. "You actually pray to that Jude? No, pray to the Aesir, the gods of warriors. Valhalla awaits us all for our greatest feats. I believe I will be sitting next to the Wuotan himself."
Fegelein looked nervous. "You are a very Germanic woman, Helga. I heard rumours of Himmler performing and promoting such pagan acts in his castle, but I never believed them until now. Rumours of esoteric rituals where every member were expected to renounce their Christian faith in favour of the traditional faith of ancient Germanics."
"Our duty was to create the true form of German, Fegelein. If you'd look at a history book, you'd realised the Christ God only came after the Carolingians took over and burnt the great pillar of Irminsul."
"That's the Saxons, Helga."
"Oh yeah, I meant when the Teutonic Order came and converted the Prussians to Christianity. But either way, the true form of the doctrines of our creed will shine brighter than ever before. No longer will we be burdened with black-haired, dark-eyed parasites in our ranks nor followers of the God who died by men. Our rule will be absolute. It's just a shame you didn't raise your hand to join me."
Fegelein raised one of his eyebrows and scanned Helga with his eyes, directed at her white hair and hazel eyes. Hypocrite, Fegelein thought. "And what is wrong with wanting to remain at home?"
Before Helga could answer, the conversation was broken up when Victor Meyer came running towards the two of them in great haste. When he reached them, he was completely breathless.
"It's done, Helga," said Victor.
"Good, Victor," Helga congratulated, ignoring a confused Fegelein. "Get out of here."
As Victor quickly ran away from the area, there was no such time for Fegelein to question what that was all about as his questions were answered mere seconds later. There was an explosion, strong enough to knock both Helga and Fegelein off their feet for a brief moment.
When Fegelein managed to get his bearings back, he quickly looked behind him and saw the entire lodge was nothing but smoke and burning wood. Those who were still inside at the time were those who simply rejected Helga's proposition. While Fegelein looked in extreme shock and disbelief as his home and his comrades were up in smoke, Helga came right beside him and patted him on the shoulder.
"Call this, my night of the long knives," Helga said, grinning. "I did exactly what the Kaiser should have done years ago."
"H-Helga," Fegelein stuttered. "W-Why!? We needed those men."
"For what?" Helga asked. "For there to be a power struggle once we actually do forge a new Reich beyond the Gate between squabbling old men? For those who have opposing ideologies other than the true form of the National Socialist doctrine to form their own governments once they get across the Gate, creating rivalries?"
"Y-You just murdered our own men, OUR OWN MEN, simply because you wanted more power to yourself!? Who is going to command the legions of men we just left exiled after you just killed their leader? Who's going to form the governing body of those who are beyond the Gate? Those cronies who must be compliant to your every word?"
"Fegelein, Fegelein, Fegelein," Helga said, clicking her tongue, "what makes you think I will give other men the chance to stand in the way of my true goal like the Wehrmacht did? Anyone who stands in my way, friend or foe, will end up as food for the panzerhunds. Sacrifices had to be made for the good of the Reich, just like what the führer did when he eliminated Röhm, the Schwuchtel."
Fegelein stuttered for a moment, unable to comprehend at all that just happened in such a short time. "You just killed the men who stayed loyal to the true Reich since the start! You killed those who despite everything, stood close to you ever since you gave them hope! And for what!? To gain more power for yourself!?
"I know, but it was those same men who lost the war in the first place and wanted to compromise what I have planned by attempting a coup." Helga then pulled out a document from her coat and tried to give it to Fegelein, who wasn't at all interested in the document as he smacked it away. "We couldn't have allowed the Kaiser to see us as a bunch rogue officers but better off as a cunning organisation of shadow elites. This coming meeting, the terms will be set and Himmler will have no choice but to follow with his honour guards. Sure, I killed some of our best, but I will not tolerate any such rivalries when we are so close to reclaiming our power."
"Himmler will hear about this!" Fegelein screamed.
"No, he won't," Helga said, before revealing her Walther P38 from underneath her arm sleeve. "I forbid it."
Helga's finger clenched and Fegelein fell backwards as the strength of the P38's round went straight through his forehead and out the other end. The body of the former Gruppenführer who first joined the Wehrmacht only to turn back into the Schutzstaffel laid on the dirt ground with his own blood staining his grey uniform as Helga loomed over his corpse like a hunter.
With a sinister grin on her face, Helga exclaimed, "Non ducor, duco." I am not being led, I lead.
In silence, Helga wondered who she could trust to follow her command out of those who were left. Who would try to take over her claim as the next führer? She need not worry about that right now, not until she gets across the Gate and forges the empire she dreams of. It had to happen soon but slow or the Kaiser would catch on quickly why they are so desperate. But when the time was right, the true Reich will rise stronger than before.