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MARIO J. TORRES
The King's contradictions
ACT 1
__What has Your Gracious Majesty to offer us in Your new reign?-inquired the
servants.
__ I have reserved for you a kingdom where all of you shall be owners and
masters of its patrimony and you shall have the right to make use of its
coasts, castles and all of its services. All of you shall be equal with no
distinction of race or origin and thus shall be able to freely walk, travel
and wander along and through the boundaries of my territory, hunt and fish
at will. Besides, each child in my kingdom shall unfailingly enjoy a daily
jar of milk and every plebeian should have work, dwelling, clothing and food
guaranteed in their saddlebags and doublets. On special seasons of drought,
you shall be able and allowed to consume what you grow in the orchards and
gardens of your tents, huts and cottages. Furthermore, you, the peasants,
would sell or trade your products to whom you decide or find suitable and
convenient. This shall be a monarchy of the plebs', by the plebs and for the
plebs - explained in full detail, very arrogant and proud, the king.
__ And, Your Highness, how would Your army, Your guards, and Your knights
behave?- continued questioning the curious plebs.
__ Weapons! what for!?- answered the monarch with this question- You will
only need oxen and ploughs- and added- All the guard castles will definitely
be turned into schools and may I point out that my reign shall be
nationalist and as green as palm trees and it will indeed outstand the
values and traditions of our region. There shall not be guards who may dare
lock you up in a dungeon or cell, nor who be so bold as to force you to
evict from your property. You, the peasants, will all own your land and keep
it for yourselves and not the feudal lords. All plebeians shall have the
chance to speak in any form of utterance using their own tongue since there
shan't be no patrician to whom you would have to honor, addressing them in
their language any more. Not only shall you stop enduring and suffering from
abusive taxes but also you shall enjoy the first free monarchy of this era
in which injustice, robbery, corruption and prostitution should be all over.
Medicine men ought not to charge for their services and herbs either.
The plebs, excited and full of illusion, began to applaud at the monarch's
words, but after this impression was over, questions kept coming:
__ And regarding our neighboring empire, how have You thought to treat them?
And concerning the other bordering reigns?
__ The neighboring empire will always be to blame for any kind of evil we
might encounter and those unfaithful ones who ever dare abandon our kingdom
shall be regarded as traitors to the crown and they would not be allowed to
return. You must not use the currency of the empire nor carry out any kind
of trade with them because they are our enemies, nor would you love or
esteem the despicable Chinese kingdom either, although we indeed have to be
deeply grateful to the red kingdom's because of their disinterested help
-clarified the leader with full authority.
__ And the respect for the Gods? - insisted the crowd.
__ We shall be atheist since Gods enslave us and they tell us too many lies
-pointed out His Majesty- Therefore, we must be forced to look down on those
who worship them but anyway, I can assure you that you will be happy here.
The plebs, very enthusiastic and jumping with happiness, gave the monarch
another round of applause.
ACT 2 ( A few years later)
__ I have summoned you in this circus - announced the king addressing a
large group of plebeians who had massively gathered in the village main
square to listen to his speech- to explain to you some of the new laws of my
kingdom that show many of its achievements.
First of all, I will tell you that, as of right now, all coasts and castles
will be reserved only for visitors from other kingdoms, villages and regions
who will be allowed to freely use the neighboring empire's currency as form
of payment; unlike you all, who would have to trade it for more than twenty
times its value to be able only to feed yourselves with more strictly
controlled rations. You must not hunt or fish unless you are granted a
special permission from the king's guard.
The daily jar of milk provided to children will be reduced to half a jar
twice a week and only for the smaller ones. Garments and gowns shall have to
be bought only with the neighboring empire's currency and it will be
forbidden for you, farmers, to sell your products and prey in plazas,
squares and public places.
You shall cover yourselves with a loincloth if necessary or you shall eat
grass if needed. Oxen and ploughs will not be necessary since the land is
already dry. Besides, I understand that "self consumption" was a failure but
we must enforce the law and for that reason there will be vigilance and
punishment for those who violate it by trying to take possession of food
from others or for those who intend to escape to surrounding reigns and for
this purpose and at the same time, to defend ourselves from an imminent
invasion of the empire, we shall constitute and create the troops of the
fighting plebs to which you must all belong and actively participate and we
will build more castles for our guards and we will acquire or make more
bows, arrows, shields, swords and spears to defend ourselves.
I proclaim- continued the king, inflamed with passion- that my kingdom is
red, as was our allied reign and this will be till death. We shall send
warriors to fight for other kingdoms in need and we shall also send them the
leftovers of our crops and harvests.
The land - kept talking His Majesty- will belong to the king and taxes
should be paid to him for any kind of transaction or trade with the penalty
of jail if there is a violation. Your huts and cottages shall undergo an
inventory by envoys from my reign because all of them with all of their
assets will belong to the king by the regulations stated in this edict.
You shall have to learn the enemy's language to be able to understand our
visitors' utterances. I am sorry medicine men have run out of herbs for
healing diseases but you ought to heal yourselves by invoking and imploring
to the Gods to whom, maybe, as of today, you would have to render more
honors, at my own discretion and under my surveillance. The patricians of my
reign will enjoy special prerogatives for their history of fidelity to the
king.
We shall gladly receive help from the generous Chinese kingdom and I now
recognize the bad quality of the trades received from the red kingdom,
which, as you all must know, does not exist any more. We must also welcome
and receive with honors all of those who fled and crossed the border to the
evil enemy empire because they will bring us valuable offerings and gifts
from that land.
I shall be reelected year after year due to the evident and obvious fact
that you all want me to be your ruler forever, that is why there is no need
to ask you .
We shall educate our little warriors in the spirit of love to the King and
His ideology.
Only those faithful to the crown will have the privilege of participating in
our yearly games.
Jugglers' and jesters' songs and jokes will have to be revised, analyzed and
authorized by my advisors before carrying them out. Also, all of you, from
now on, will have travel on foot wherever you go, since there will not be
any more carriages or horses available for you, and those existing, will be
assigned for the patricians of my reign. All types of proclamations, news
and notices ought to have my Prime Minister's and my advisors' approval.
You must understand the efforts that all this implies for us and that it is
all for the sake of preserving our principles of dignity and sovereignty. I
am sure you also know that the neighboring empire is guilty for all of these
limitations we are now facing. However, in spite of all these special
measures, I once again assure you that you will feel happy here.
The hungry and barefooted plebs looked at each other in disbelief and then
intended to murmur with displeasure, but when they noticed the threatening
king's guard that surrounded the circus, thought it over twice, controlled
their reactions visibly afraid and as if subdued by force, began to clap.
MARIO J TORRES
NOVEMBER 2005
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