Lowetania - Vortan Iskalegars Realm

[lowetania]

Twas on August 20th 2010 when the world became aware of The Dictatorship of Lowetania. Until this time no outsider had ever stepped foot within the borders of the realm, ensuring that the people knew only what their leader, the Great Vortan, wished them to know.

"It will serve my purposes well", declared Vortan as he looked at the 10,000 islands map. "When they realise the value of the prize they have just acquired they will be pleased indeed. For no other has the self belief that I Vortan Iskalegar has. No one else has the vision and determination to take this ramshackled world and shape it, through strength and determination, into a world where the people are protected, where they are happy and nurtured, where they respect authority and each other and where they LOVE their leader with every fibre of their being. When that day comes Fred all the world will rejoice!"

"Err, Yes Sir! Bravo Mr President Sir, well said!" Fred gulped slightly, hoping that his leader had not noticed the momentary pause but too late he realised he had noticed.

With a face that was the picture of rage incarnate Vortan turned upon him, automatic pistol in his hand and, without a moments hesitation he fired and shot Fred right between the eyes.

"Filth! And to think I trusted you to be near me. Reginald! Get me another Butler, this idiot has bled all over my carpet. Oh, and send in the cleaners to deal with this. I am going to walk among my people now, so have the Imperial Guard assemble as the front gate to escort me. You know how much the people love to try and touch my magnificence."

"Yes Mr President, without delay." and Reginald hurried from sight.

Vortan looked at the body before him, seeping its life blood into the now ruined carpet. He scowled slightly. "Inconsiderate individual. To think that he made me shoot him, and after that carpet took the weavers two years to finish it. Wait until I tell them I want another EXACT replica. I am sure they will be grateful of the work, it will keep their hands from being idle."

With that he headed out into the grounds and began making his way to the gate where he could already see the gleaming of the armour of the Imperial Guard that stood awaiting his pleasure. Their array of weaponry clearly visible, he knew these soldiers were the loyalist of all his people and he knew also that they would never allow any the chance to try, as unthinkable as it may be, to harm his noble self. He smiled to himself as they formed up about him and as the gates opened they set out into the streets which were even now filling with the loyal throng, who had been alerted to his imminent visitation by other members of the Imperial Guard who were hurrying house to house to tell them their beloved leader was coming their direction, that they might catch a glimpse of his magnificence.

"It must be grand, to be able to see their leader among them, especially when they are so grateful of the protection my policing policies bring and now all the more so because of the removal of the uncertainty of government. No more democratic foolishness here, now the people know where they stand for ever without the endless two way bickering of the corrupt and evil politicians. No, they are much better off now, and see how grateful they are for the Euthanasia bill we have just introduced. Already I see the clinic has a queue waiting to get in, my, I had not realised that so many of my people suffered so, I shall have to arrange a medical survey to find out the true picture of my peoples health, I cannot let them die in unnecessary pain and discomfort, not when they love me so"

And with these thoughts still flooding his mind he began the daily walk through the streets close to the Imperial palace, the people cheering and smiling, standing side by side with the loyal Guardsmen who had roused them from their afternoon slumber.

More to follow ...

[lowetania]

"Well now, that was most unexpected." Vortan mused, as he watched the latest edition of the blatently racist broadcast of 'Bigtopians say the weirdest things'.

"When I banned public nudity I didn't bank on this, as funny as it may be I am not sure I approve of racism and will have to figure out how in Gods name I can get out of this." He sighs and drifts into silent contemplation.

The morning brought a very curious experience by the Imperial palace. A group of citizens, risking life and limb arrived at the gates and request audience with their leader. They were of course strip searched for weapons by the Imperial guard, in a less than sensative way as usual before finally being escorted to the great audience hall where Vortan sat upon his throne awaiting their arrival. They were herded in and brought to the centre of the hall where they immediately fell to their knees.

The awkward silence was broken by Vortan himself, "Well my children. You asked for an audience with me and here I am. Let it not be said that I am unapproachable. But please, stand and tell me why you have come. What great problem do you seek my wisdom on?"

The group of now very pale citizens looked at one another anxiously as they rose to their feet and one of their number took a step forward, being nudged by those close to him. he clearly seemed unhappy about his promotion to spokesman but he quickly stepped back slightly when four Imperial guardsmen raised their weapons.

"No gentlemen, let him approach a little, I would hear what he has to say." The guardsmen lowered their weapons again but their eyes hid none of their aggression and Peter Goodfellow was left in no doubt as to the danger of his current situation. He gulped and took three steps more before stopping.

"Mr President Sir, I .. that is we .. are here on behalf of the Lowetania Democratic Peoples Party, which is .. or was .. a secret group where we worked out how to approach your good self to ask your permission to become an official group to help you to understand how the people really feel about things." He gulped and studied Vortans face searching for some indication of his emotions but found nothing but intensely powerful eyes that seemed to be burning into his. He could feel his nerve begin to fail him so he hurried on.

"While we appreciate all that you have done for us thus far Sir we hoped that you might be willing to allow us to have an open political group where we could talk about issues of importance to us all and then we could tell your most glorious self how the people feel about certain matters. We are not unhappy Sir, please understand, we are not looking to make a change to your position. Rather, we simply hoped that our ideas and feelings could be considered in the decision making process for future policy moves. This will make your own position stronger Sir, because the people will see you as a man not afraid of letting the people have a voice." He bowed his head and stepped back a pace.

Vortan sat still, silently he looked to his siblings to his right, who were dressed in their resplendant uniforms. At his look they moved close and at his further beckoning spoke. The first being his brother Samuel.

"We don't need this rubbish Vortan, WE KNOW what is best for the people, they have no idea of what they need, not really. We should crush this notion of importance and execute these treasonous filth as an example to all that opposition to our policies will not be tolerated."

"Wait," his sister Faith spoke up in her usually calm voice, she was much more understanding than her younger brother. "This could be good. If the people see you as willing to listen to them it will secure your position still further and weaken the case against you among the people. They use your isolation from the publics opinions against you and we can stop this now. Let them have their group, appoint a couple of liaisons to sit with them and act as a messenger to bring their ideas to us. This will let you seem to be listening to them even if you never implement any of their ideas we might find that their disquiet subsides. Who knows, they may even have a good idea every now and again."

Vortan raised his hand and nodded to them both. They stepped away and returned to their seats. He looked sternly towards the gathered group before standing and stepping down from the Throne dais onto the hall floor and walked right up to them. He stretched out his hand offering it to the spokesperson who took it very warily. As they hands met Vortan spoke, his voice filled with an unfamiliar warmth.

"I give your idea my blessing. I would ask that you allow me to appoint two representatives to sit with you so that they may bring your ideas and views to my attention as you agree them. It will be good to know how you feel and what you think. Together my friends we will make Lowetania the envy of the civilised world. This new partnership approach to our government will be an example to all nations for do we not all want what is best for our land? Our united front will leave the world in no doubt that our country is among the best. We shall have a glorious future before us. Now go, spread the news and please, keep us informed as to your progress and your meeting places so that my representatives can join with you." He released Peter's hand and stepped backward.

The gathered group were astonished, their relief and gratitude apparent and they bowed repeatedly as they were escorted from Vortans presence. The hall door closed upon them and his face seemed to darken as he turned back towards his family.

"Sister, you had better be right about this. Assign two of our best to serve as the intermediaries and make sure that you know the names and entire backgrounds of every one of the ring leaders. Make sure that if we need to take action against them in the future that we will be fully prepared to erase their existence utterly in a single strike. It might prove dangerous if we assume they're genuinely only interested in the good of the land. Now go, get to your work, and do NOT fail me." He strode to the rear of the room briskly and passed through the door which had been opened for his by the guardsman stood beside it into his private chambers.

Sam and Faith looked briefly at one another before they too left the room to enact their brothers commands.

More to follow ...

[lowetania]

Things seem to be going swimmingly in Lowetania. With the implementation of new legislation they have banned bicycles on major roads, delighting the drivers and the automobile industry. Also the passing of laws allowing the sale of organs which have been embraced by the impoverished students who are happily getting smashed on the monies they got for that spare kidney. The economy is thriving, much to Vortans great delight, having placed substantial bets on it getting better still. Already he was fickles ahead!

"So my brother, tell me about this gambling problem. The child was how old?" He looked his brother in the eyes and waited for his response.

"Eight. Only eight. Very impressive indeed. It shows that our education system is working well for him to be able to understand the complex rules involved in the games he is playing. It's a real shame that there are people who consider this a problem. I personally would praise this kid for his entreprenurial spirit, he's about 20k up so far I hear."

"20k up!? Now that IS impressive. I have decided that we should encourage the young to become involved in gaming. It will help them to become money aware, teaching them more about its true value and will also help them appreciate that every action has a consequence which is a fact that will prepare them well for their future lives."

"Yes brother, an excellent idea. I am sure that there will be many parents out there with intelligent and gifted youngsters who will be able to lift their families out of poverty without too much effort. Besides that of course we also have the recent donation from the gambling sector to build a new central hospital 'Rollofdadice Infirmary'. Which will be offering every patient the opportunity to have a flutter on the horse races from their hospital beds. The inclusion of the organ service within it too will let people raise extra cash while they are there already. It is an inspirational set up which we should support unreservedly, especially since they donated 25 million fickles to our personal accounts as a thank you for our support and cooperation. It more than paid off my debt!"

"HA! Indeed my brother, indeed. So tell me, which nag do you fancy for the 3.15?"

And the two continued there banter as they waited for the afternoons races to start. Things were definately looking good for the growing state of Lowetania.

More to follow ...

[lowetania]

"They found WHAT! Under the rainforests? Hells teeth ..." Vortans raised voice and stunned expression said it all. Uranium deposits so large that the country would be an economic paradise for years to come as a result, but at what price?

"They tell me it is the largest deposit of Uranium ever found sir but being under the rainforest we will no doubt be going head on with the enviromentalists. Perhaps I might offer a compromise that may be of benefit to us all." Erik von Feelibum paused, awaiting his leaders permission to continue.

"Go on Erik, please, I would welcome your input here." He liked this man, his level headedness had proved very helpful in past years and Vortan was certain that this would be another instance.

"Well sir," he gulped slightly, "I would suggest that we allow a very small area to be deforested and allow the mining company to access the Uranium through underground mining. Thus when the Uranium is depleted the mined can be refilled and the forest area that had been damaged could be replanted and reestablished so that future generations would not ever realise that the mining had taken place at all. But the benefit to our economy, not to mention our defence capability would be boosted expotentially. It is definately a win-win scenario."

"What of the animal life in the area to be cleared?" Vortan loved all things wild, feathered or fluffy.

"Well sir. The animals could be encouraged to move to the other forested areas. The noise of the clearing operation will drive them deeper in anyway so it should not be a problem. Regarding the sloth population, being very slow creatures, we can gather them up and physically relocate them. And such as the sparrow, well they will merely fly to safer trees within the area."

"Excellent Erik. Alright, prepare the paperwork and arrange a meeting with the miners so that we can tell them our decision. And please, make sure that the clauses on re-forestation and preservation are included. Also make sure that we get a VERY generous income from this, these are afterall OUR Uranium deposits. You know waht these corporations can be like, they have no sense of responsibility, only caring about the bottom line profit. We will need to monitor them very carefully to prevent them from cutting corners or creating any hazards that could impact on our national health. If I had the skillset I would have been tempted to establish our own mining company to take ALL the profits for improving our peoples lot, but I cannot so this will have to do."

"I shall see to it at once sir." Erik bowed and walked swiftly from the room. Once outside the door he breathed deeply, letting his body adjust from the tense mess it always was when called into audience. Too many men had, in Vortans younger years left that chamber feet first after upsetting him. So far though he had avoided this and for that he thanked the Great Goo-gar deity of Utter Doziness to which he regularily prayed.

Meanwhile, back in the audience chamber Vortan was doing a little jig and singing quietly to himself. "I'm in the money, I'm in the money .... da da de de de da!"

More to follow ...

[lowetania]

Many issues followed in the next few days and the world seemed to be looking at Lowetania in scorn. Whispered words were heard by the intelligence agents, sorry, diplomats out in the world and these words were VERY uncomplementary. They suggested that our people lacked intellect, that they were being abused by our noble leader and his 'lackeys'. And yet, deep within his hardened bunker Vortan clearly had the best interests of his people at heart.

"How dare they?! To tell us they think our people are uneducated and unintelligent!! Its an outrage!!!" His face was deep red, his eyes were blood shot, and his advisors cowered in their seats. He threw his coffee mug across the room and watched it bounce harmlessly, and unbroken, to a halt.

"ARGH!!!!" his cup was now the target of his fury. How dare it not shatter into a thousand peices? He pulled his pistol and fired several rounds smashing the defenceless cup to oblivion.

The advisors breathed a sigh of relief, it could easily have been one of them instead of the cup so they were very grateful. They sat in silence, waiting for their signal to speak, but instead it was their leader who broke the silence.

"I will show them that we are NOT unintelligent. Increase educational spending. Support the brightest pupils by giving them additional teaching support to allow them to reach their full potential. These few will be the ambassadors of tomorrow, our leaders of industry and the arts. We will prove to the world that Lowetania is more than capable of producing the bright stars of tomorrow. We will make them eat their words, and if not, then we will make them eat bullets!! WE WILL PROVE THEM WRONG. Identify all the really smart pupils and bring them, and the best teaching staff together into a single academy here in the capital. Make it a centre of excellence that the whole world will ENVY!" he paused a moment "YOU'RE STILL HERE?! MOVE!!!"

The advisors panicked, a couple falling over their chairs and hastily returning them to their upright position before they ran in terror and obediance from the room. Vortan waited until the last of them had gone and the door had closed before he let his mask of rage slip from his brow.

"They are so incredibly weak, not a one of them has any balls. Would that their was someone among them with spirit enough to make a truly good advisor. It would be nice to have someone with whom I could converse with on a fairly even level." He mused to himself further as he wandered from the room into the elevator that led back up to his Imperial Palace.