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A great storm had descended on the coast.
The homes along the sea cracked like magpie eggs
Our children and elders poured into the water. There were no kings then, there was no alliance between the tribes.
We’ve all heard that story before, dear friend.
Yes, my lord, and you most of all.
Your great-grandfather carved a canoe out of a fallen tree and set out to find those had been swept away.
Four days on the open sea, and he found but two small girls. He returned to the shore, disappointed.
But when he turned the canoe around on the sand, he saw such beautiful words and pictures.
The souls of the dead, drifting underwater, had carved their advice into the canoe as it passed over them.
Wisdom, innocence, generosity, and a hundred other virtues were recorded on that vessel.
It was from then on that your ancestor rose from a mere farmer to a king, that his word became law.
The knowledge gained from the sea made us prosperous, and it was learned by the next king, and the one after.
And the one after him?
Yes, yes, Your Majesty, you have those virtues as well.
So I implore you to permit my village, suffering as it is from a flood, to-
To not pay tribute this season. I allow it.
Thank you, my lord. You are a true embodiment of justice.
Enough praise for today, dear friend.
Tend to your kinsmen. I have sent my men there to help.
They can never ask for anything without harking back to that story.
It is part of the ceremony, my lord.
That is my fear. I hope there is sincerity beneath that ceremony. Any one else?
Yes. A foreigner has come.
A foreigner?
Yes, from a neighboring island. There is an urgency in his tone.
Bring him to me.
Come forth.
Ah, you’re that minister. I remember you from when I visited your lands.
Tell me, how is your king?
He is dead. My kingdom has fallen.
To whom?
Europeans, arriving in great ships.
First they flashed a parchment offering us protection. Then they returned with their instruments of slaughter.
Did you resist?
We resisted, until our homes were set ablaze by their gunpowder, until the king and a dozen men were butchered.
I have fled, but I still resist.
This enemy…is its appetite satisfied with just your nation?
Two other kingdoms have fallen. Very soon, you will be next.
He must need rest. Show him to a room.
So, so I greet the weaknesses that I did not know I have.
That octopus lurking in the shallows has shown them to me.
Why has it come so far from its home to destroy my neighbor’s and mine?
A message from the lands of the Dutch, my lord. Their minister wishes to visit in two weeks to present a treaty of protection.
My turn has arrived. Send in the foreigner from yesterday.
He is outside.
Describe the Europeans.
They are men, like us. But they are possessed by thoughts of possession.
They have forgotten civility, respect-
I will not lose my kingdom.
You cannot survive their weaponry. And you face more than one enemy.
Among the Europeans, there’s fierce competition. Each nation’s fleet combs the oceans for more lands to claim as its own.
These nations, they respect each other’s claims?
Yes, for the most part. They fear war with each other.
And in their conquests, have they discovered the entire world?
Perhaps, perhaps not. Even if they did, they would not know.
So if the Dutch minister arrives on our lands and finds them already conquered, what would he do?
He may leave you alone. But what would you gain if you were already defeated? Under which kingdom’s control would you be content?
A mighty kingdom. One from the lands the Europeans have not yet discovered. An imaginary kingdom, one that we create.
You cannot be serious.
We pretend to be colonized. Would the Europeans risk war with an unfamiliar nation by taking its prize colony?
We can teach them to fear it, to see it as their equal.
Perhaps you will. What a wonder that would be…
What do you think?
I don’t know if your trick will work. I only fear its weight on your dignity.
You may not be submitting to Europeans, but you’re submitting nonetheless.
Yes I’m submitting, but to a false power. To a specter I’m submitting.
It is a facade, dear friend. Tell me, how do we construct this facade?
You must then ask, what does a colonizer want from its servant?
You must rearrange your finances. Make it appear that you pay tribute to your master.
It shall be done.
Change the colors and symbols on your banners. Your men no longer serve you, but a new lord.
It shall be done.
That is not all. You must replace your gods with new ones. Destroy the statues in your temples.
We cannot insult our gods. We would lose their favor-
No respectable power would fail to instill the righteousness of its own gods on its servant state.
It shall be done. Anything else?
Appoint one of your men as a representative of this imagined kingdom. An actor, perhaps.
Do you know any performers from the theater? Perhaps a foreigner?
Yes.
Bring him to me.
Your Majesty, will your people know that their new master is an illusion?
No. If we are to trick the Europeans, we need as many believers as possible.
And one more thing. Tell my carpenters to build a boat, a great one with many sails.
On the third night from now, tell them to drag it to the coast under cover of darkness.
This will be the symbol of the conqueror’s arrival.
Envisioning this new kingdom, my lord?
I tried to create its gods…soon they will be my gods.
One treasures honesty, and another diligence, perhaps, and another patience.
But I could not imagine a god that allows for the enslavement of the world.
When my kingdom collapsed, we were united with our conquerors under one religion.
But it might as well have been two, because while our oppressors felt god’s grace, we only felt his wrath and punishment.
The actor you requested, my king.
So this is the man who will-
SILENCE, imbecile. Kneel before you speak to me.
You insolent-
My king, he is only playing his part.
As the symbol of the imperial power, he is your superior.
Kneel.
The kingdom may not be real, but the act of submission is.
My king, dissent has spread among the peasants upon rumor of invasion. Protests have ensued.
Any other news?
A ship has arrived on the coast.
It carries the Dutch minister.
My king, the peasant uprising has spread to the capital. The fishermen have joined-
Not now.
Hello, I am Albert Gillis. I represent the interests of the Netherlands.
I am Mohesh Razak, representative of the Tolowar Kingdom and governor of this colony.
He is a local monarch.
I had not expected this. See, I thought this kingdom might have been taken by the Spaniards or the British.
But I have not heard of your kingdom. Where is it?
Sail northeast until the constellation of a running oryx is above you, and you will see it.
Marble towers line the coast. It’s hard to miss.
An oryx?
Ah yes, a beautiful animal. Very common in my nation, and an absolute delicacy. It’s what I miss the most here.
Here I have to eat the local filth.
Here. Let us discuss “here”. You see, the kingdom of the Netherlands does not respect your authority to rule here. Here, your authority here is not legitimate.
But I believe it is. Do you believe it is? What was your proudest moment as king?
The afternoon that the emperor of Tolowar Kingdom visited my land.
Ah, well, I didn’t mean to insult you. We don’t want go to war over children, after all.
Perhaps not. Have you heard the myth of his nation’s founding?
His grandfather was taught by ghosts in the water.
By GHOSTS, right where my ship is now.
We told our children that story, my lord
I will address you in time.
And they will tell it to theirs.
Kill the assassin.
NO.
He has murdered your lord. This is an act of war. Do you not fear retribution?
Kill him.
And what of the others? Command your army to arrest the rest of the infidels.
Yes, I suppose that’s what I should do.
Slaughter those who resist.
Crush the rebellion.
DON’T.
Stay.
Treason. You are committing treason.
Don't.
Minister, you are witnessing a revolution. I declare my nation’s independence from Tolowar Kingdom.
I will inform the public, my lord.
Leave my country. And when your people return to conquer these lands,
tell them to remember that my people have learned to seize their freedom.
Forgive me, dear friend. I saw our nation as mine alone
No other colony has ever overthrown its master. Your ruse worked after all, Your Majesty.
You may be the last one to call me that. I will not be king for long.
I would be honored to oblige any last command.
Continue the lie.
Board the ship on the coast and set sail.
Tell the other colonies that our kingdom has defeated a tyrant. Let them know that it can be done.