"Please make your report, Hughes." A kind looking man with pale white skin and hair and kind blue almond eyes spoke in a reassuring and calm manner.
A room of thirty or so children were sat in rows of four and columns of five, all held the same features of the man, most were nervous while some showed anxiety, but this particular student showed confidence, he stood up sharply from his desk and walked to the front of the electronic board.
"Ahem." He cleared his throat before reading aloud the paper he brought with him.
"The Republic of Albia or the Albian Republic is a city-state located in Central to Western Europe, within former France and Germany near Strasbourg.
Our glorious republic has enjoyed peace for t-two hundred years before the Albia-Juhg War of 4110 in which we have decimated completely..." He stopped abruptly, taking a peek at the teacher who seemed to have been liatening intently.
"Thank you for the report, now onto the questions." He paused, letting little Hughes take in the information.
"Why was the Albian Republic attacked by this Juhg?" He asked calmy and carefully.
"W-We were.... We were attacked because they were jealous of our race!" He answered.
"Now, why were they jealous of our race specifically?"
"Because we are pure humans, and they weren't?"
"Why did you say it as a question? Are you not sure?" Hughes turned away, flustered.
"Nngh, y-no! No, sir, I am sure. "
"Good, now say it again, this time with more conviction, convince me that you said it surely." Hughes took a deep breath then answered. "I am sure, sir"
"That's half-true, so I'll give you..." The teacher wrote something down on a paper. "a 0.5 for answering my question" Hughes seemed relieved.
The teacher then stood up, walking slowly to the front. His footsteps echoed through the air-conditioned classroom.
"Now who wants to take this chance for an extra .5?" He announced.
One by one, kids raised their hands to answer.
"Hmmmm.... how about.... Miss Wehner" Hearing her name called, she stood up slowly.
"It's because the Federated States of Juhg were resource-starved, fearing economic collapse due to hostile neighbors, the Juhg High Command thought that the Albian Republic was significantly weaker than its neighbors.... so they attacked us" She sat back down, earning applause from all around the class.
"Thank you very much, Miss Wehner. Congratulations on your .5" He beamed, walking to a corner of the e-board, tapping and typing a series of letters in two blank fields, a list of names popped up suddenly throughout the whole board.
The teacher then swiped, halting in less than a second he tapped on the full name of Wehner and typed in .5 in the recitation column.
"That makes up a 1.00 GPA, very good, Miss Wehner."
Tringggg Tringggg
The nostalgic metal chime of the bell rang for one thing only, it was finally the end of the school day.
In an instant, as was routine, students packed their bags, stuffing it with the things they brought out, during all the commotion of school's out, the teacher spoke.
"Same time next week, two students will report a history fact about our country, provide a softcopy of the detailed report before our deadline!"
"Yes sir" the students affirmed.
"Good" clapping his hands together. "Please lead our closing prayer, Hughes" The teacher requested.
The little boy went over to the front, a backpack on his back, he stood in front of the teacher.
Clasping his little white hands, he bowed his head and said his prayer.
"Dear Father in heaven, thou hast blessed thee with the fruits of knowledge and thou hast provided safe passage to and fro our humble homes, we thank thee for thy gifts we have recieved and for we are about to recieve, Amen" With that, he turned around and raised his right arm at an angle, his left arm rested just to his side.
From just above the e-board were portraits of men and women, all below a green and white flag.
Everyone followed him, watching the flag.
For a few seconds of absolute silence, they watched it hang, then when the fourth second marked, the chaos of children leaving resumed.
"See you guys again! Take care!" The teacher said with a smile.
January 6, 4123
The Republic of Albia, Eden Sector
A large holo-display featured a beautiful woman in light modest clothing, her ghostly white skin in contrast with her dark green dress with frills, her white hair tied neatly into a bun showed her thin neck, a lovely gold locket rested on her ample bossom, she had a beaming smile; ready to face the audience.
Behind her was a light green wall, serving as her background for her report.
"Good Morning everyone! It is another beautiful day in the Republic" Her voice echoed throughout the streets of the city, men, women and children walked about, shiny curvy cars, similar to cars from the 50s and 60s, hovered the wide, smooth and pristine road.
The reporter continued "And friends, with the Founding Anniversary tomorrow, all of us hope for your participation." Everyone was busy, going to work, chatting with a friend, shopping or simply wandering, everyone was on the move.
Not a sight of trash on the smooth and excellently maintained street, on the sidewalks and the bike path.
A man looked up and saw majestic airships floating high above the sky as well as multiple floating balls, thrusters equipped just under it as it maintained a level flight, flying in a predetermined flight path.
Besides the patrol drones and airships were the robots on the ground.
They bore the likeness of humans but weren't entirely, they had a smooth stainless steel exterior all over its body, like clockwork and in terrifying speed and efficiency, it picked up litter and droppings of both man and its pets.
Storing all sorts of mess and garbage inside of its chest as a panel opened, revealing a black space, this was a type of android called the Trashtrecker, a smaller, less armed version of the standard android, operating similarly to a human garbageman, it packs it inside of its chest, compacting it into a cube then takes it back to the Autonomous Garbage Truck II or the AGT II.
A peaceful day this was, thought that same man in the crowd of pedestrians, his smile not leaving his face as he waited.
He wore a modest suit, not eye-catching and blends in with the crowd, but then he heard a buzz, bringing his wrist to his mouth after reading a line of text on the electronic display on the wristband, he spoke to it.
"Morning Eugiene" He greeted while tapping on another device, this time it was just behind his ear.
A raspy, husky voice came through the other end of the call.
"Good Morning IM, you down to come down to nerd land rq? Need your help with sumn'" The man Eugiene referred to chuckled a bit.
"Manners don't get stuck in that head of yours huh? Why is bro is so rude to the Emperor?" He snapped back sarcastically.
"Dude, it's just me, I ain't wasting my time with that crap, anyways you down to hang or nah?" He sighs then nods "Yeah, I'm coming, Migs coming too or no?"
"Haven't asked yet, anyways call me when you get here, still busy with work" The call ended with a beep.
Imperial Bureau of Science and Technology, Site EC-1
A large and long hover car floated along the large roundabout, stopping shortly at the entrance where multiple guards were stationed, automated defenses and drones kept vigilant watch, constantly scanning the perimeter of the facility.
An escort opened the door of the car, letting the Emperor out after all of his guards vacated from it.
Armed with highly advanced rifles and wearing the latest combat suits under their classy white suits made sure that the regent was well protected from evildoers.
But just as the escorts shadowed the Emperor, he held his hand for the security detail to halt, immediately understanding the unpredictable nature of the Imperial Family is what made these men part of the exclusive security detail, so with a nod, they let him walk, seeing him off with a "Have a safe hangout your Imperial Majesty"
But just as he was about to step foot in the Facility, alarms blared everywhere, the guards quickly took the Emperor inside, it wasn't long before everyone was inside.
"Gopher Protocol Engaged" The AI declared, sealing off the entire facility with large heavy steel blockades.
"Phase One Complete" It declared.
"Phase Two Commencing" A large rocking motion made the Emperor fall to his knees, he and everyone felt like they were going under, like an elevator.
It would take minutes before the AI spoke again "Phase Two Complete, Phase Three Commencing" The blockades went down, letting everyone free from the large facility and into the vast underground.
"Phase Three Complete, Thank you for your cooperation" Taking the moment in, everyone adjusted to their situation.
"What's happening?" The Emperor asked.
But only confusion was the answer he was given.
"Hoffhell, you alright?" The voice of his friend echoed, he looks back to see the staff, among them was his friend who rushed to the group from the escalators.
"Y-Yeah, I'm good, what's happening anyways?" Eugiene couldn't give a straight answer, a hand on his ear, he looks like he was listening to something. "Some sort of freak weather event, AAGASA didn't say but storms and earthquakes are happening all over the Empire man" A look of worry settled on the Emperor, Hoffhell's, face.
"Hey, atleast the Gopher Protocol came in clutch right? I bet that eighty percent of
Eden is already in the undercity with us" He reassured his friend.
"Y-Yeah, thank goodness for Vi and the Gopher Protocol huh?" One of the guards of the facility said.
Hoffhell looks at one of his bodyguards "Get me to the Palace"
The Underground National Highway
The car they drove sped through the streets of the undercity, instead of hovercars the group used conventional wheeled cars for safer travelling, this was to ensure minimal accidents like colliding with support beams or the cave itself when going through the Underground National Highway.
The Underground National Highway was first built after the resurgence or reclamation period in 2177, the first Albians constructed this with the thought of another nuclear war happening, conveying these fears into action, the Albian government decided to fund the construction of the Undercity Project, a massive city deep underground in similar size to the one above ground, the first phase of the project was completed in 2220, 43 years after the start year of the project, until this day, the Undercity has continued to expand, from the initial size of 0.49 square kilometers to the massive 730.6 square kilometers, just 2 square kilometers over the size of Singapore City.
The Underground National Highway connects the entire city to multiple elevators, allowing an almost seamless transition from the Undercity to Albia, from there, people will have to undergo multiple security checks to ensure there is no criminal or espionage activity.
Hoffhell held his hands closed, twiddling with his fingers, he was anxious at what has happened.
His eyes were glued to the onboard TV, projecting the many sectors of the republic, all were struck by the freak storms.
"Investigations are still going out, please stay tuned as we cover more of the event" The reporter said.
The reporter took a breath and resumed "We have confirmed that atleast five have been killed.." She kept a professional face, but her hands were trembling.
"We have just confirmed that the entirety of the Republic of Albia is under the Gopher Protocol, the death toll is....five" Sadness loomed in the car as the reporter read out the names of the victims, this wasn't supposed to happen after all.
The Darrumburgh Palace
The Darrumburgh Palace is the brain of the Albian Republic, while the Capital was the Heart, the palace first started construction at the end of the Second Revanence War and was finally completed at the end of the War against the Ghrollic Imperium, both wars were won by the Republic, albeit the price was heavy, the spoils were however many, its architectural design is similar to the Louvre Palace of former France, Darrumburgh Palace is twice the size of the Louvre Palace, allowing its sheer size to house many government buildings in its annex, symbolizing the tightly knit relationship the Imperial Family has to the various departments and ministries as well as the Prime Minister and his cabinet that ran this country, the large front garden makes it a great place for visitors to wander in, many have eloped in it so it has garnered the infamous title, The Garden Of Love.
The car pulled over, letting the chauffer open the door for Hoffhell, everyone raised their arms to salute.
"Welcome back home, Your Imperial Majesty, the Ministers and Prime Minister are waiting for you in the throne room" He thanked the butler and hurried into the Palace.
The walk to the room felt unnerving, he had a cold sweat, noticing this reaction was Eugiene, walking beside him with a tablet.
"Disaster Relief should have been sent out immediately, why the hell were there still so many deaths?" He cursed out, Eugiene wanted to protest, but it was no use, it was better to let him vent first.
So he kept walking until he saw the large doors, the flag of the Empire was hung at each end of the doorway, guards posted saluted Hoffhell.
"I'll meet you later Eugiene" The doors opened with a sway of Hoffhell's hand, multiple people who wore distinct suits watched Hoffhell appear before them.
He trudged on, brushing past the many ministers, when the crown was presented on a silk-like pillow, he held onto it tightly, carefully he placed it atop his head.
"Thank you all for coming here, Mr. Kirkmann, how bad is it?" A slender man stepped forward and responded "We've confirmed the various ministries their status reports, they will be the ones who will provide their detailed reports" Hoffhell nodded then looked at a another slim looking man.
"Minister Arihold, status of the citizens?" He asked with a booming voice, a voice amplifier was fitted inside of the crown to enable the Emperor to deliver his speeches and meetings, it is adjustable and doesn't weigh much on the head of course.
"C-Citizen morale is low because of the report and freakstorm, we expect this to plummet more unless we distract them with something positive" Hoffhell nodded and pointed to another man.
"Report" He ordered.
"As said by the Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, Morale is low, but the same can be said for the Defense Force, we haven't had a non-natural human death in over a hundred years since the invasion of the Ghrollic Imperium, we are also supporting the Ministry of Public Emergencies heavily, along with the Ministry of Science and Technology with their MECHs" He explained.
"Status of the Weltenbastion" Hoffhell looks at a large man, his ghostly white skin and equally white hair complimented the black suit he was wearing, so when he stood at attention, he looked similar to a well dressed Santa Claus who was about to give a lecture.
"The Weltenbastion guard has given no abnormal reports minutes during the disaster, defenses are operational with engineers inspecting everything again just to be safe." A satisfying response begets a satisfied Emperor.
"What about the weather? That freakstorm or whatever it was, has it passed already?" The one to answer that was the Executive Director of AAGASA or the Albian Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.
"We have recieved reports from our weather stations that it has passed yes, but the damage to our land was unprecedented, we don't know how that storm has gone under our radar like that, but for now we should resume national operations" A woman raised her hand to cut in.
"And adding onto what Director Havbard said, our national food reserves would last about three years before we reach critical levels, my Ministry and the Ministry of Public Works and Infrastructure have already started construction of a mega farm and promoted hyperbreeding for meat production though these efforts could only be harvested two years later"
"A worrying situation, thank you for the report Minister Eris, Minister Havbard and Minister Laagden"
Next to speak was another slender-ish man with glasses.
"Energy production, thanks to the freakstorm, has been cut in a little over half, thankfully we won't have to worry about a meltdown thanks to the reinforced materials we built our Nuclear Plants from, but the rest weren't as lucky, especially our Solar farms, but we expect a shipment from our Interplanetary mining complexes to lessen the burden and reactivate some of our fossil fuel and coal plants."
"Let's first introduce energy curfews, disable civilian and government bot charging in unnecessary sectors and introduce scheduled shut-offs and turn-ons for our defense systems, please make a comprehensive list of large energy consumption categories and an initial schedule for the planned energy curfew, I want that submitted to me the day after tomorrow, you got that Rovols?" The slender-ish man nods as he transcribes.
"Anymore reports?" Hoffhell asked, but none answered, feeling satisfied for now, he claps his hands and proclaimed.
"Then.. Meeting adjourned"
January 7, 4123
Everything was raised back up when morning broke, block by block, sector by sector, the capital was regained, but not one person was in the streets, no cars were moving about, only machines, servants of the empire, only they were seen moving about, completing their tasks.
The large display from yesterday showed a live-feed of the Darrumburgh Palace, thousands of people were seen in the open field, everyone clad in black, the founding day was grim, drones flew just over the mourners, handing cold refreshments to everyone on such a day.
The reporter was on the scene, matching the gloomy attire.
"A sad day for all, what was supposed to be a day to remember the ideals of the nation, have turned into a day to mourn the losses this great nation had endured, we hope that all who couldn't attend to spare a moment to pray with us...." She hung her head low as she signed, clasping her hands together and holding it tightly.
The view switches, from the moment the most important figure in all of the Republic went into view, everyone could feel the grace of this man.
"His Imperial Majesty has just appeared at the balcony" She reports to her viewers and listeners.
"Good day, citizens, today is a great loss of life, because it wasn't from war, disease or starvation, but it was a freak accident that has somehow bested our brightest...." He paused for a moment, letting everyone take in his words.
Then
BAM
He smacks his table "IT WAS OUR ENEMIES! FILTHY HEATHENS! PIGS WHO HAVE FAILED TO EVOLVE! THEY WERE THE ONES WHO MANIPULATED IT! FEEDING CHEMICALS TO THE CLOUDS AND CREATING SEISMIC MACHINES!" Everyone felt the fire of passion in his words, it was simply the act of the failures of evolution, pigs who walked on two legs, bipedal nonhumans.
"THIS WAS AN ATTACK ON ALBIA AND THE ALBIAN!" Hoffhell raised his hand, angry shouts emerged.
"THIS WAS AN ATTACK THAT COSTED FIVE, NOT ONE NOR TWO, BUT FIVE HUMAN LIVES!" He proclaims, the anger grew.
"WE WILL CRUSH THEM WHEN THEY SHOW THEIR FACES! WE WILL MAKE THEM REPENT! IN THE NAME OF THE VICTIMS OF THESE FILTH, I PROMISE TO EXTERMINATE THE PIGS OF HUMANITY!" Cheers erupt, raising their hands to salute, they sang "Oh Albia, please see me! See me fix thy wound! Let me heal, nurture and surture it, our home, Albia!" A excerpt from the national anthem.
"HELP US FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT! HELP US BE RID OF THESE ANIMALS WHO CLAIM THEY ARE ONE OF US! OH GLORIOUS PEOPLE OF THE ALBIAN REPUBLIC, LET ME BE YOUR VOICE AS YOU CRUSH THEIR HEADS WITH THE HAMMER OF JUSTICE!"
Thunderous applause echo, people cried as they chanted the ideals of the Republic.
"To fix the wrongs inflicted upon humans! We implore the good lord to help us accomplish thy task at hand, let us fix the wrongs inflicted upon us humans!" The news reporter prayed on live television.
"Let's start the Founding Day!" Hoffhell declares.
A few hours later
The nation, which was previously in such a grim mood was full of life again, the clean tiled streets were bustling with people, shops were lit with pictures of various heroes and the flag of the Republic.
Most shops had pictures of the Imperial Family plastered everywhere along the heroes.
"Hey Papa! Papa! Look!" The father of the child turned to check on his ten-year old.
"What's wrong Hughes?" He asked with a fatherly smile "It's the Emperor!" The boy points and funnily enough it really was the Emperor, walking about with a large bag.
"Well wouldn't you know? It really is him!" He acts.
The boy pulled his dad to the Emperor who was busy handing out envelopes.
"Good Afternoon, Your Imperial Majesty!" The dad greeted with a smile, but that distraction was more than enough for the boy to run up to grab the leg of the middle-aged emperor.
"W-what do you think you're doing boy!" He was about to grab him but Hoffhell raised his hand to stop him.
He chuckles before kneeling down to meet the boy "Well you're the fifth one that's grabbed me, so how about a trade?" He spoke softly, letting the boy know that he wasn't angry at all.
"Ice cream for my leg, what does my captor say?" He playfully says, the boy looked up and said "Deal!" Hoffhell chuckles some more before calling over an ice cream car to him.
"What is my captor's favourite flavor?"
Imperial Bureau of Surveillance and Counter-Espionage, Control Room
Androids worked as the humans celebrated, most of the facility was automated so there was little need for human supervision, but just to be safe, there was always someone on call to fix bugs and other sort of things.
Computers and screens played feedback from various small or micro spy drones, in the images of birds, insects and even small land animals, they saw everything.
"Hey Daryl, you good to switch?" Another person entered the room, hot choco on his hand.
"Yeah sure, let me send the report to the head real quick" Daryl, the only human in the room replied.
"Gotchu...." The other man who was inside suddenly noticed something off about the footage.
"Hey dude, you sure these guys are calibrated to the same routes?" He asked Daryl.
"Yeah wh-" He stopped, his whole body froze as he watched Drone Cam #3281.
"What the fuck?"
One hour later
Almost all of the personnel who were celebrating Founding Day was recalled after witnessing this.
"Tell the Minister of Defense and AAGASA.... this isn't possible" The Director of the Bureau couldn't believe his eyes.
Darrumburgh Palace
A few hours later
"Another situation has appeared, Your Imperial Majesty" The Director knelt down as he explained.
"While my subordinates were busy overlooking the footage, we have come across a..." The director paused "Out with it"
"Excuse me, we have been, taken to sea...?" He paused, letting everyone in the room to process.
"Let me see the footage" The director nods, touching his wrist a couple of times to type something, swiping the air with two fingers towards the elevated throne where the Emperor sat.
"This is footage of Drone Cam number 3218, with certainty, this footage is as raw is it can be" he explained, but Hoffhell looked more and more concerned as the footage played inside his mind.
"W-We've collaborated with the Ministry of Defense and AAGASA to make sure that this was the case for the entire country, and it seems that yes... we've been turned into a large island, the ocean is about 150 kilometers from the Weltenbastion" He reports.
"How big is the landmass we are currently on?" Hoffhell asks.
"20,532 square kilometers, in comparison to the Old World, this is the double the size of Hawai'i, a country in the Pacific region formerly owned by the United States of America then obliterated by the Federality of Massachusetts in response to the State of California's War Crimes in the region" He answered perfectly, this new information made Hoffhell excited.
"And with our former size of about 12,128 square kilometers, that is one hell of an upgrade" Hoffhell grew more excited.
"We might finally meet some humans too, unlike those pigs back on Earth" He blurts out, which made the director chuckle.
"Well I'll issue a meeting tomorrow, for now enjoy Founding Day" Hoffhell raises a wine glass to the Director and downed it.
The director disappears, leaving only a skeleton of an android fitted with multiple photon lasers and a transparent shield that acts like the skin to project an image.
"I guess that solves overpopulation, just hope we are alone in this place first."
Hoffhell looks out the window from his throne, there he saw the gigantic wall that protected them from multiple invasions, the wall that has forever been there, to protect the last humans of Earth against the pigs of humanity.