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| - In the Republic of Shadgor, in the winter of the seventh year of the Qweg adminstration, a very odd thing happened. Nothing too stupendous or earthshaking, it seemed at first. Nothing that would attract the attention of kings or dukes or generals or even systems analysists, nothing big, in other words. And due to its smallness, it was overlooked by all but a simple farmboy, who recognized it for what it was and tried to warn all that came his way that the downfall of the country would be rapid, oh yes, terribly quick, and that it would come soon.
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| abstract
| - In the Republic of Shadgor, in the winter of the seventh year of the Qweg adminstration, a very odd thing happened. Nothing too stupendous or earthshaking, it seemed at first. Nothing that would attract the attention of kings or dukes or generals or even systems analysists, nothing big, in other words. And due to its smallness, it was overlooked by all but a simple farmboy, who recognized it for what it was and tried to warn all that came his way that the downfall of the country would be rapid, oh yes, terribly quick, and that it would come soon. He had been dozing and resting his eyes behind the third grain silo to the left of Slabark's field when he overheard Citizen Toop and some farmers talking of the effects on trade of hydroponics producing food and some plans to produce enthanol. As they talked he heard a tiny fizzing sound down near the ground next to where he'd left his rake. "Fzzz Fzz ppt fzzz sqk fzzz" it went. The farmboy raised himself from his supine repose and knelt down near the sound. There was a little blue hole in space, about three inches from the ground and about one inch wide. Certainly not big enough to worry anybody, was it? Still, a hole in reality suggested the gods were preparing to mess with people's lives in the Republic again and that hadn't happened for nearly 300 years. The farmboy could still hear Toop and the others droning on about the farming concerns of the day when he noticed he could see something through the little hole. At first he wasn't sure what it was, but then... He realised it was the tiniest humanoid form he had ever seen, apart from toy soldiers. This was no toy, however. It was a living breathing tiny person wearing a business suit like they sometimes did on that "Earth" planet. Now businessmen had there purpose, but they could only mean trouble in the farms, no matter what size they were. They always seemed to bring contracts and things that brought taxes, written in the fine print the farmers could not read for their lack of glasses and excess of sweat within the eyes. The little person wasted no time. He immediately demanded in a quiet voice, "I must see your Emperor, for my people wish to make a deal with your planet. I am I'iannta, and I represent the Oontar Empire." Now, the farmboy was very skeptical. After all, the near-falling of the Republic 300 years earlier was caused by a man, albeit much larger, in a similar-looking suit. His first deal sparked an economic depression that nearly destroyed Shagdor. Although the government no longer trusted them, their next deal was the only thing that saved Shagdor. Since then, the businessmen had continued to make deals to benefit the Republic at someone's expense, usually the farmers. So the farm boy knelt down and told the buisness man, "We do not have an emperor, because our head of government is called the Primary. But why do you need to see him? All he does is tell people what the councils have decided. What do you even want, bizzta?" He decided not to tell the alien that 'bizzta' was a highly insulting term meaning 'treacherous, thieving businessman' The little alien looked up and tried to explain, "It might be a little hard to explain to one of your class..."
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![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)