In the Throne Room of the Neural Spider King
Once upon a time, there was a powerful king who ruled his kingdom with great severity. Whenever subjects displeased him, they were banished without mercy.
In spite of that terrible consequence, many subjects spent all their energies trying to win the king’s approval with deception. Like all subjects of this kingdom could if they wished, these deceiving subjects read the Scroll of Rules the king had had posted in a prominent and public place. In fact, they read it more often and more carefully than almost anyone else in all the kingdom. They also watched the King’s actions closely, in both cases, looking for weakness.
Whenever the king discovered such attempts to deceive, and he meted out his calculating punishment, the deceiver community went all aflutter for weeks.
The majority of subjects, however, just lived in a constant state of anxiety, worried and trying not to step afoul of the king’s rules.
This anxiety was perpetuated by the king’s reclusiveness. He was seldom seen in public. And his decrees were conducted to the people by functionaries at various levels of castle government.
People ceased to think of the king as a man. He was more like a “god”, whose intentions or thoughts could never be known. Some of his people were faithful “church-goers”, some were disillusioned, perfunctory practitioners of the faith, and some were patient plotters, investing the entire kingdom with a cancer of anarchy.
Such it was until one day a stranger came into the castle, seeking — outrageously — audience with the king. “I am here to interpret the king’s dreams…” he told every guard and every lacky who stood in his way. No one had ever sought audience with the king, except those who were condemned by him. So, they let him through, mostly because they were curious.
Many months passed in this way, the stranger moving ever-closer to the secret Throne Room. Until one day, at last, the stranger found himself face-to-face with the king in his most secret abode, deep within the castle’s labyrinthine bowels.
The king looked up after a few minutes, during which his brow was very wrinkled and he was obviously struglling with a difficult thought.
His manner betrayed a profound and inconsolable boredom .
“What do you want?” he asked the stranger.
The stranger smiled warmly and waited until the king had fully met his gaze, then answered:
“I’m here to help you, your majesty.”
2hp
July 29th, 2006 at 4:11 pm
[…] People ceased to think of the king as a man. He was more like a “god”, whose intentions or thoughts could never be known. Some of his people were faithful “church-goers”, some were disillusioned, perfunctory practitioners of the faith, and some were patient plotters, investing the entire kingdom with a cancer of anarchy… more […]