Shared Futures
Brandenburg Palace - May 6
“Ladies and gentlemen, may I present you the Gaojiang of Penglai, Zhao Yu,” a herald said.
The national anthem of Penglai played, and cameras flashed. Zhao Yu, a balding portly short older man who was singlehandedly destroying Penglai’s democracy with the support of his own people, walked into the conference room, his chin up high and his stride obnoxiously assertive. Elias was surprised to find Zhao was rather short. All of his televised appearances had him portrayed from a lower camera angle, making him appear tall and imposing as he pounded podiums and ranted about the decay of Chinese civilization and Confucian values (with a weird fixation on the "disrespectful and anti-Chinese" content of the Avatar franchise). Elias stepped forward and shook Zhao’s hand.
“Nice to meet you, sir,” he said, “I’m Elias Anhorn, leader of the emergency committee. His Majesty sent me to represent him today.”
“With all due respect, Mr. Anhorn, I was under the impression this would be a meeting between two heads of state,” Zhao said.
“I apologize, but the Kaiser’s word is law,” Elias said.
Especially when he could decide what word that was.
“Anyways, please, have a seat,” Elias said.
They sat at a table.
“I have to say, I’ve heard good things about you,” Elias said.
“Like what?” Zhao said.
“Like how you’re doing a good job in Penglai,” Elias said, “You’re restoring morality and order to your people. Returning them to their roots and reminding them of their values.”
“I’m only doing what is necessary to preserve my civilization,” Zhao said.
“And your people highly respect you for it,” Elias said, “You’re one of my biggest inspirations.”
“I can see that,” Zhao said, “It’s a shame it took so long for your people to see the light.”
“I know, but now we can finally get some work done,” Elias said, “And we could use some advice from you. You’ve been doing this for thirty years, and someone with that much experience could help our work along.”
“I’d be happy to lend some help,” Zhao said, “Anybody who deeply feels about restoring their nation’s moral core is a friend of mine. But I expect something in return.”
“Name it,” Elias said.
“I’d like Roman military aid to defend our nation against the decadent mainlanders,” Zhao said, “For too long, the corrupt mainland has wallowed in shameless debauchery and immorality and has sought to corrupt Penglai, the last bastion of true Chinese values, as well. That 崇洋媚外 Tsai hates everything Penglai and everything Chinese, and we must take her down.”
“I can direct the Athanatoi to eliminate her,” Elias said.
“No, you don’t understand,” Zhao said, “That would only make her a martyr. What we need to do is make the people of China see her for what she truly is, a shameless sellout and traitor. And then they will get rid of her for us.”
“I see,” Elias said, “I can help you with that.”
“So we have a deal,” Zhao said.
“Of course,” Elias said.
They shook hands.
“To a shared future,” Zhao said.
“To a shared future,” Elias said.
Elias’ house - July 1
Wilhelm Karl and Zhao shook hands and exchanged some pleasantries for the cameras, giving off an air of friendliness and acceptance. Then Zhao returned to his chair, and the Kaiser resumed speaking.
“It is with great excitement and pleasure that I announce a new era of friendship with the great nation of Penglai and its leader, the visionary Zhao Yu,” Wilhelm Karl said, “Nobody has done more for Penglai in its thousand-year history than my friend Zhao here. I’m confident that together we can lift our nations to greater heights. It is my hope that Penglai will guide us back on a path of righteousness, towards a world where we respect both nature and our traditions, as Zhao has done in his country. To this end, I will be decreeing the following today, to take effect over the next six months.”
From his home, Elias listened to Wilhelm Karl drone on and on. He smiled, thinking of the reaction from the public. Oh wait. There probably wouldn’t be a reaction, because most people would worry about something else at the moment. But the false Kaiser served his purpose. He remembered his history lesson, how Wilson both got what he wanted accomplished and brought down Schmidt at the same time by pinning all of the blame for stuff that didn’t work on him. It also worked on false Kaisers, apparently.
“As part of the Second Nullification Act, I hereby decree the nullification of the remaining clauses of the Secularism Amendment still in effect as un-Augustinian, recognizing that the Reich was proclaimed as a Christian nation by Friedrich the Glorious,” Wilhelm Karl said, “The nullification of all remaining affirmative action state-sponsored discrimination initiatives; a temporary restriction on political parties to only those verified of not having terrorist affiliations; a restriction on the construction of the following structures of religious significance; the temporary suspension of the Public Broadcasting Service and a reduction of its budget while an internal investigation for terrorist propaganda is conducted…”
Elias raised a glass of wine.
"We made an important contribution to the future of this country,” he said, “A lot of what we've done before 2030 can be undone sooner or later.”
“They won't be able to do much about this for a long time to come," Gertrude said, raising another glass.
The door slammed open, and Francesca stormed in.
“Hello, Francesca,” Gertrude said, without turning around, “What do you want?”
“How could you?!” Francesca said. “How could you do this to all of us?”
“You don’t understand,” Gertrude said, maintaining her cool, “I’m doing this for your benefit.”
“Don’t give me that patronizing bull-Scheiß, witch,” Francesca said, “Have you even SEEN what your new decrees are doing? How they’re affecting everyone?”
“Listen, Francesca,” Gertrude said, “If you want to make an omelette, you have to break a few eggs first. Of all people, I thought you and Guglielmo would have understood. We’re doing exactly as you wanted.”
“Don’t call him that!” Francesca said. “His name is Wilhelm Karl von Hohenzollern, and he is your Kaiser!”
“No,” Gertrude said, “As a matter of fact, he isn’t. His real name is Guglielmo Carlo Doria, and he is a fraud. I am well within my rights to call him for what he truly is.”
“You’re crazy,” Francesca said.
Gertrude laughed. “Funny. I was about to say the same for you.”
“History will absolve us,” Francesca said.
“Oh, I doubt it,” Elias said, “History is written by the winners. And you most certainly are not going to be the winners.”