Kannex
TNPer
The Kannexan Reich is at peace. Fifty years have passed since the Second Kannexan Civil War, when Emperor Franz returned from exile to a fragmented country and restored the Niemza Dynasty to power. Hardly anybody remembers the strife, the toil, the utter devastation that befell the country in the old days. Those brave men and women who suffered through it all, who fought and starved and watched their families and friends die, are now shut away in nursing homes. Those who know better are trapped in a quick-paced world of digital numbers and metal skyscrapers. The youth of today, they say, only care about money -- and little else.
"Kannex prospers," the adults always say. It's one of those phrases that the government likes to paint on concrete walls, or place on billboards right next to advertisements for real estate. Like other weekly 'motivational phrases' from the government, it is always written in both of the Empire's official languages: first in the round German letters that flow across the billboard, and then in sharp, tree-like Mandarin characters. It took a while before Min-dschu could read the Mandarin characters -- to her, they looked like box-shaped beasts with strange heads and feet made of black ink.
When Min-dschu was little, she thought the phrase meant that now everybody could have computers and cell phones. Her parents had said it wasn't until the Niemza Dynasty took power that they could have all these luxuries. Uncle Schëngli first bought a cell phone for his overseas business trips, and soon her own father and mother were holding little beeping pieces of metal to their ears and making phone calls to relatives and coworkers. But Min-dschu's secondary school teacher said this wasn't what "Kannex prospers" meant.
"Can you imagine what would have happened, if His Majesty Emperor Franz hadn't saved this country back in 1955?" the teacher asked the class, twirling a wooden meter stick in his hands. The children shook their heads and sealed their lips -- surely this was another trap. They watched as the teacher strolled up to the front of the class, where a portrait of the current Emperor Karl, son of Emperor Franz, hung above the blackboard. Emperor Karl von Niemza exuded a radiant smile with his perfect white teeth, as if to exhort his subjects to study and work hard for the good of the Empire. He was said to be 60-something years of age, but still possessed no wrinkles on his face and a head full of lush black hair.
Beside the portrait of the Kaiser, a smaller frame held the picture of a less handsome man with gray hair and a thin mustache, about the same age as the Kaiser. Duke Wilhelm von Niemza, close cousin to the Kaiser and his right-hand man. When the Kaiser commanded, he obeyed. Wilhelm held a spot high in the government, close to the Emperor. No one really knew what his job was, but no one questioned why he was there. People said he was the second most powerful man in the Empire. Every morning the students stood and saluted the two portraits, reciting words of undying allegiance to the Empire.
"We would have chaos. Just imagine," the teacher began, whacking his desk with the stick to punctuate his point, "having no food, no home. Imagine you had to live on the street, barely being able to survive. Imagine there was no God above Kannex, and all heaven and earth were in disarray, and people acted like wild beasts and hunted each other like prey. Imagine all family ties dissolved, and a father didn't recognize his sons while the sons didn't recognize their father. That -- " He paused, leaning forward, and pointed at no one in particular. " -- is what would happen if His Majesty hadn't returned and saved this country."
"Sounds a bit excessive, don't you think?" whispered the girl next to Min-dschu. Min-dschu didn't dare respond or even glance her way, because she soon caught the teacher's eye.
"And so," the teacher continued, "'Kannex prospers,' because without the Emperor, there is no Empire, and without the Empire, there is no prosperity." He glanced at the book on his desk. "Now, turn to page 35 in your book, please."
Min-dschu's elder brother went to college in a big city, but had returned home for the summer break. He spent his days eating off their parents, spending money in the arcade hall, and burying his nose in the magazines as if he were an adult. When Min-dschu finished telling him about what the teacher said, he shook his head and laughed. "The Emperor's only a man, Min. It's not like he's a superhero or something. Your teacher's being stupid."
"Well, I'm glad at least family ties still exist in this country. I like recognizing my father and my father recognizing me," Min-dschu countered, turning away with a hint of annoyance in her voice. "Superhero or not, I wouldn't want to live in a country where people acted like wild beasts."
That night, fireworks lit up the sky to welcome the new season, their brightness blocking out the stars. The surface of the bay mirrored the celebratory sky, so that red and green fire seemed to dance on the silver surface of the water. A cool summer breeze flowed into the room as Min-dschu watched from her open window. A few more weeks, and the school year would be over. Then she would have the freedom to stay in her house all day lazily, like her brother.
The next morning, the white hot sun shone in the sky, casting an oppressive swelter even inside the school auditorium where the entire school had gathered. All the teachers were lined up at the sides of the large space, fanning themselves and joking and cursing the broken air conditioner under their breaths. The students in turn cursed the teachers under their breaths, who were making them sit in straight rows of foldable chairs in an unbelievably hot, humid room. The chatter did not die down before the headmaster, a pudgy gray-haired man in a brown suit, made brisk steps towards the podium at the center of the stage and took the microphone into his hand. Placing on his glasses, he read aloud the paper in front of him.
"Good morning..."
This is another one of the headmaster's pep talks, right?
It probably is. Probably gonna talk about respecting our elders or somethin'.
"... ladies and gentlemen, children..."
I bet you it's probably got to do with the cigarettes found in the bathrooms.
Or maybe they found out who blew up the toilets last semester. Someone's getting expelled.
"... I have grave news to impart."
What, wasn't that you?
Shhhhh, quiet -- !
The headmaster's body became stiff and his voice monotone as he read the next few lines. His eyes widened at the paper in his hands. He paused before continuing.
"The traitor formerly known as Duke Wilhelm has died trying to escape to Plembobria... Duke Wilhelm betrayed the trust of His Majesty the Emperor, our dear ruler, and attempted to assassinate him. When this nefarious plot was discovered, Wilhelm attempted to flee across the border... As a matter of divine justice, the faithless coward crashed in Marieheim Province and forfeited his life."
The auditorium fell silent. The headmaster looked up, his hands shaking as he took off his glasses and scanned the room.
"I-It pleases me to report... that His Majesty Emperor Karl remains alive and healthy. Long live the Emperor."
Long live the Emperor.
"Crashed in Marieheim? Tried to assassinate the Emperor?!"
"His own cousin! The Emperor's right-hand man! How could he do that?"
"Are you sure you heard right? He said Wilhelm, right, Duke Wilhelm? The guy whose portrait is right next to the Emperor's?"
"I heard the teachers are gonna take them down. Only the portrait of His Majesty will be in the front of the classrooms now, and no one else."
"These are frightening times."
"What do you know about fear? Don't be so dramatic! You heard the news as well as I did. The traitor, he -- they said the traitor's dead! He tried to kill the Emperor, and now he's dead."
"Why would he betray his own cousin, the Emperor? It doesn't make any sense..."
"Are you saying the headmaster is lying?"
"I'd wager it'll be on the news this afternoon, if they're not messing with us. Someone's getting arrested if this is all just a big prank."
"Well, even the headmaster was surprised when he read it, wasn't he? Maybe the adults don't even know... "
"This... this doesn't seem normal," Min-dschu peeped, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Kannex prospers," the adults always say. It's one of those phrases that the government likes to paint on concrete walls, or place on billboards right next to advertisements for real estate. Like other weekly 'motivational phrases' from the government, it is always written in both of the Empire's official languages: first in the round German letters that flow across the billboard, and then in sharp, tree-like Mandarin characters. It took a while before Min-dschu could read the Mandarin characters -- to her, they looked like box-shaped beasts with strange heads and feet made of black ink.
When Min-dschu was little, she thought the phrase meant that now everybody could have computers and cell phones. Her parents had said it wasn't until the Niemza Dynasty took power that they could have all these luxuries. Uncle Schëngli first bought a cell phone for his overseas business trips, and soon her own father and mother were holding little beeping pieces of metal to their ears and making phone calls to relatives and coworkers. But Min-dschu's secondary school teacher said this wasn't what "Kannex prospers" meant.
"Can you imagine what would have happened, if His Majesty Emperor Franz hadn't saved this country back in 1955?" the teacher asked the class, twirling a wooden meter stick in his hands. The children shook their heads and sealed their lips -- surely this was another trap. They watched as the teacher strolled up to the front of the class, where a portrait of the current Emperor Karl, son of Emperor Franz, hung above the blackboard. Emperor Karl von Niemza exuded a radiant smile with his perfect white teeth, as if to exhort his subjects to study and work hard for the good of the Empire. He was said to be 60-something years of age, but still possessed no wrinkles on his face and a head full of lush black hair.
Beside the portrait of the Kaiser, a smaller frame held the picture of a less handsome man with gray hair and a thin mustache, about the same age as the Kaiser. Duke Wilhelm von Niemza, close cousin to the Kaiser and his right-hand man. When the Kaiser commanded, he obeyed. Wilhelm held a spot high in the government, close to the Emperor. No one really knew what his job was, but no one questioned why he was there. People said he was the second most powerful man in the Empire. Every morning the students stood and saluted the two portraits, reciting words of undying allegiance to the Empire.
"We would have chaos. Just imagine," the teacher began, whacking his desk with the stick to punctuate his point, "having no food, no home. Imagine you had to live on the street, barely being able to survive. Imagine there was no God above Kannex, and all heaven and earth were in disarray, and people acted like wild beasts and hunted each other like prey. Imagine all family ties dissolved, and a father didn't recognize his sons while the sons didn't recognize their father. That -- " He paused, leaning forward, and pointed at no one in particular. " -- is what would happen if His Majesty hadn't returned and saved this country."
"Sounds a bit excessive, don't you think?" whispered the girl next to Min-dschu. Min-dschu didn't dare respond or even glance her way, because she soon caught the teacher's eye.
"And so," the teacher continued, "'Kannex prospers,' because without the Emperor, there is no Empire, and without the Empire, there is no prosperity." He glanced at the book on his desk. "Now, turn to page 35 in your book, please."
Min-dschu's elder brother went to college in a big city, but had returned home for the summer break. He spent his days eating off their parents, spending money in the arcade hall, and burying his nose in the magazines as if he were an adult. When Min-dschu finished telling him about what the teacher said, he shook his head and laughed. "The Emperor's only a man, Min. It's not like he's a superhero or something. Your teacher's being stupid."
"Well, I'm glad at least family ties still exist in this country. I like recognizing my father and my father recognizing me," Min-dschu countered, turning away with a hint of annoyance in her voice. "Superhero or not, I wouldn't want to live in a country where people acted like wild beasts."
That night, fireworks lit up the sky to welcome the new season, their brightness blocking out the stars. The surface of the bay mirrored the celebratory sky, so that red and green fire seemed to dance on the silver surface of the water. A cool summer breeze flowed into the room as Min-dschu watched from her open window. A few more weeks, and the school year would be over. Then she would have the freedom to stay in her house all day lazily, like her brother.
The next morning, the white hot sun shone in the sky, casting an oppressive swelter even inside the school auditorium where the entire school had gathered. All the teachers were lined up at the sides of the large space, fanning themselves and joking and cursing the broken air conditioner under their breaths. The students in turn cursed the teachers under their breaths, who were making them sit in straight rows of foldable chairs in an unbelievably hot, humid room. The chatter did not die down before the headmaster, a pudgy gray-haired man in a brown suit, made brisk steps towards the podium at the center of the stage and took the microphone into his hand. Placing on his glasses, he read aloud the paper in front of him.
"Good morning..."
This is another one of the headmaster's pep talks, right?
It probably is. Probably gonna talk about respecting our elders or somethin'.
"... ladies and gentlemen, children..."
I bet you it's probably got to do with the cigarettes found in the bathrooms.
Or maybe they found out who blew up the toilets last semester. Someone's getting expelled.
"... I have grave news to impart."
What, wasn't that you?
Shhhhh, quiet -- !
The headmaster's body became stiff and his voice monotone as he read the next few lines. His eyes widened at the paper in his hands. He paused before continuing.
"The traitor formerly known as Duke Wilhelm has died trying to escape to Plembobria... Duke Wilhelm betrayed the trust of His Majesty the Emperor, our dear ruler, and attempted to assassinate him. When this nefarious plot was discovered, Wilhelm attempted to flee across the border... As a matter of divine justice, the faithless coward crashed in Marieheim Province and forfeited his life."
The auditorium fell silent. The headmaster looked up, his hands shaking as he took off his glasses and scanned the room.
"I-It pleases me to report... that His Majesty Emperor Karl remains alive and healthy. Long live the Emperor."
Long live the Emperor.
"Crashed in Marieheim? Tried to assassinate the Emperor?!"
"His own cousin! The Emperor's right-hand man! How could he do that?"
"Are you sure you heard right? He said Wilhelm, right, Duke Wilhelm? The guy whose portrait is right next to the Emperor's?"
"I heard the teachers are gonna take them down. Only the portrait of His Majesty will be in the front of the classrooms now, and no one else."
"These are frightening times."
"What do you know about fear? Don't be so dramatic! You heard the news as well as I did. The traitor, he -- they said the traitor's dead! He tried to kill the Emperor, and now he's dead."
"Why would he betray his own cousin, the Emperor? It doesn't make any sense..."
"Are you saying the headmaster is lying?"
"I'd wager it'll be on the news this afternoon, if they're not messing with us. Someone's getting arrested if this is all just a big prank."
"Well, even the headmaster was surprised when he read it, wasn't he? Maybe the adults don't even know... "
"This... this doesn't seem normal," Min-dschu peeped, her voice barely above a whisper.
