Mirror Emperor
Character
1757 Age of Prosperity
The Emperor walked around the outer edge of the platform. The wind at the peak of Imperial Tower was like a gale, yet it seemed to have no hold over him. Not a single piece of clothing moved out of place. Meanwhile, Raziel, the current head of the Department for Re-education, struggled to keep his footing.
“Do you know what I see, when I look out there?” The Emperor asked, indicating the vast expanse of the city that expanded to the horizon in all directions.
“Perfection?” Raziel asked tentatively, grimacing against the wind. The Emperor seemed to notice his discomfort. There was a casual flick of his gauntlet and the air was suddenly completely still around them both. For Raziel, the instant return to almost complete silence was almost more disconcerting than the air rushing past him.
“No. This is the model, but it is far from perfect," the Emperor replied, shaking his head. "We have control all across the Galaxy. Released from their endless squabbles they have had their freedom taken away to give them real freedom. Freedom to be productive citizens of my empire. Advancement had been near stagnant for tens of thousands of years before the Empire, did you know that?”
“No,” Raziel replied. It wasn’t quite the truth, but he knew better than to interrupt his Emperor's line of thought.
“Now technology advances at an exponential rate. Healthcare is better than ever, crime is at an all time low. All they had to do was swallow the bitter pill; do as they’re told; and turn their efforts to hard graft instead of pointless wars or mounting pitiful resistances to my rule.
“But this comes at a cost. The veneer of control is quite thin you see. It costs so much to maintain this level of control, to pay for all this ships and Peacekeepers. I know we’ve made inroads, the automation programme: scanners in every home, drones on the streets, less bounty hunters - who are essentially leashed dogs I want to put down as soon as possible. I have a dream Raziel, would you like to hear it?”
“Yes sir, I would.”
“I thought you would, and I think you might share this dream. I imagine a world where we do not need this layer of control to be enforced. Where the citizen’s natural instinct is to obey. Think of a place where everyone simply got on with what we told them to do. It can happen. It will happen.
“Just look at the new generation. Ten million citizens were reported for displaying signs of outlawed thought last year - by their own children.” the Emperor said with a wide smile across his face. “They are the future. They won’t need to be forced to be subservient, they will grow up wanting to be this way. They will think the thoughts will tell them to think and they will give up their spirits for the greater good.
“If I asked you what you saw before you, would you still reply ‘perfection’?”
“No, that was naive.” Raziel replied solemnly.
“Good, good. I share this with you because I think you might understand. I need people like you who share this vision,” he said. But that was only a partial truth. They were a breed that would also need to be removed from the bigger picture. One day there would be no intelligence agents, no Peacekeepers garbed in white on the streets.
What had they called them in the other place again? Ah yes, stormtroopers. Such a violent name, the Emperor mused, recalling something from a lifetime ago. There was no need for the people to understand the vision any more, they simply had to accept it as nature. “It is not to be shared and neither should you voice my concerns on how long we can afford to run things as we do now. Is this understood?”
“Of course, sir,” Raziel said with a respectful bow.
The Emperor walked around the outer edge of the platform. The wind at the peak of Imperial Tower was like a gale, yet it seemed to have no hold over him. Not a single piece of clothing moved out of place. Meanwhile, Raziel, the current head of the Department for Re-education, struggled to keep his footing.
“Do you know what I see, when I look out there?” The Emperor asked, indicating the vast expanse of the city that expanded to the horizon in all directions.
“Perfection?” Raziel asked tentatively, grimacing against the wind. The Emperor seemed to notice his discomfort. There was a casual flick of his gauntlet and the air was suddenly completely still around them both. For Raziel, the instant return to almost complete silence was almost more disconcerting than the air rushing past him.
“No. This is the model, but it is far from perfect," the Emperor replied, shaking his head. "We have control all across the Galaxy. Released from their endless squabbles they have had their freedom taken away to give them real freedom. Freedom to be productive citizens of my empire. Advancement had been near stagnant for tens of thousands of years before the Empire, did you know that?”
“No,” Raziel replied. It wasn’t quite the truth, but he knew better than to interrupt his Emperor's line of thought.
“Now technology advances at an exponential rate. Healthcare is better than ever, crime is at an all time low. All they had to do was swallow the bitter pill; do as they’re told; and turn their efforts to hard graft instead of pointless wars or mounting pitiful resistances to my rule.
“But this comes at a cost. The veneer of control is quite thin you see. It costs so much to maintain this level of control, to pay for all this ships and Peacekeepers. I know we’ve made inroads, the automation programme: scanners in every home, drones on the streets, less bounty hunters - who are essentially leashed dogs I want to put down as soon as possible. I have a dream Raziel, would you like to hear it?”
“Yes sir, I would.”
“I thought you would, and I think you might share this dream. I imagine a world where we do not need this layer of control to be enforced. Where the citizen’s natural instinct is to obey. Think of a place where everyone simply got on with what we told them to do. It can happen. It will happen.
“Just look at the new generation. Ten million citizens were reported for displaying signs of outlawed thought last year - by their own children.” the Emperor said with a wide smile across his face. “They are the future. They won’t need to be forced to be subservient, they will grow up wanting to be this way. They will think the thoughts will tell them to think and they will give up their spirits for the greater good.
“If I asked you what you saw before you, would you still reply ‘perfection’?”
“No, that was naive.” Raziel replied solemnly.
“Good, good. I share this with you because I think you might understand. I need people like you who share this vision,” he said. But that was only a partial truth. They were a breed that would also need to be removed from the bigger picture. One day there would be no intelligence agents, no Peacekeepers garbed in white on the streets.
What had they called them in the other place again? Ah yes, stormtroopers. Such a violent name, the Emperor mused, recalling something from a lifetime ago. There was no need for the people to understand the vision any more, they simply had to accept it as nature. “It is not to be shared and neither should you voice my concerns on how long we can afford to run things as we do now. Is this understood?”
“Of course, sir,” Raziel said with a respectful bow.