Seat of Power (short story)

Life is a broken dream;
some spend it
picking the pieces
others waste it
for what it is.

After the installation ceremony, I was then faced with the task of running the affairs of the kingdom. Due to the magnitude of the kingdom, the administrative machinery was very complicated. But, thanks to the people?s phenomenal technological advancement, things were made easy. The technology was so advanced that the use of scientific facilities like wires was no longer fashionable. Everything was remote-controlled. One could move an object without necessarily touching it. In the same manner, one could also communicate to someone without using any visible means. For instance, if I wished to talk to one of my thousands of ministerial heads, all I had to do was to think of him or her and the intended messages would be automatically communicated. It sounds like magic, but it is not. In fact, magic was an alien word in the kingdom. The feat was made possible by a special micro device which, when swallowed, lasted one for a lifetime. I swallowed mine in the soothing wine-like water given to me on my arrival. Every legitimate citizen of the kingdom was entitled to a dose of the device.

With this device, and numerous others, some of which were even more sophisticated, every sphere of the people?s endeavours was made easy. Transport by whatever means was rendered almost obsolete as one could watch and talk to anyone at any corner of the kingdom and beyond, through the remote control device or the special audio-visual phone. And if one found it necessary to travel, there were planes that flew faster than the speed of light. So, there were no traffic congestions on the gold-tarred roads and streets as those who drove did so just for the fun of it and not for lack of a better alternative. The impact of the extraordinary technological advancement on the general economy was equally tremendous, with all the economic indices pointing upwards superlatively. The poorest man in the kingdom was the equivalent of the richest man on earth. This ensured peace and security, which was further reinforced by the constant monitoring of the thoughts of every citizen through a device in the security ministry. Any thought that was inimical to the well-being of others automatically triggered off an alarm. And the best a culprit could hope for was a hundred years imprisonment. Just for harbouring a bad intention!

The kingdom could be described as a paradise. In fact, that was what I regarded it to be, till I met my earthly friend, the one I was going to visit when the incident in the lift happened and I found myself here as a king.

Sorry, I haven?t told you how I got here. It all began on a lift to my friend?s office. As I stepped into the lift and the attendant pressed the button for the tenth floor, I felt a sudden, strange sensation spreading through my entire being?spreading with a sizzling effect. It was like I was evaporating. Then I found myself out of the lift, above the building, above the city. Above the earth. I was no longer a material being, but a spiritual being. And soon I found myself in this great kingdom called Huza?u. Such an unbelievable kingdom! The palace was the size of the largest country in Africa. And the capital city was as large as the continent of Africa while the kingdom itself was more than the entire earthly world in terms of land mass and population. I was quite overwhelmed by the magnitude of this kingdom which was said to be the smallest compared to other thousands of kingdoms on this realm of existence. Seven days after my arrival, I was crowned as the 4000th king of the kingdom in a ceremony that vibrated to every corner of the universe. In the priest?s installation speech he recounted the custom of the people regarding ascension to the throne for the benefit of guests from other realms. According to him, each of the previous 3999 kings had died at the minimum age of 3000 years. And as custom demanded, a day after the passing away of each king, the reigning priest would pray for a new king, and it would be dropped from wherever God chose in his endless worlds. Since the founding of the kingdom by a saint who lost his way to heaven, there had never been a system of succession whereby one of the offsprings of the outgoing king automatically became the next king as it was the practice in other realms. The people?s custom here considered that practice as an injustice of the highest order.

?I therefore crown you, Your Highness, in accordance with our custom, to rule over us for the next three thousand years,? the priest had concluded amidst deafening ovation.

Now, back to my friend. Just like every other incident that had occurred since my spiritual transformation the circumstances in which I met my friend was quite dramatic. I met him 2000 years into my reign as the king of Huza?u kingdom. The news of his presence in the kingdom got to me through my security minister. An unidentified object who claimed to be my friend had been found on the outskirts of the capital city, heading for the palace, he had said. And upon further enquiry through some special communicative devices I discovered the unidentified object was indeed my friend. It was Shamna. His life-sized image on the screen gave every detail about his physical being. He was looking terribly emaciated. Not the Shamna I knew.

?Send him over,? I ordered the minister. And in no time, I heard a trumpet in the courtyard announcing his arrival. Guests were normally received by the palace ushers and attended to, in terms of refreshment and other necessary forms of hospitality, before meeting the king. But I couldn?t wait to see my friend. I rushed out to receive him, ignoring the subtle disapproval of the guards and other palace officials.

?Shamna!? I called as I saw him.

?Saeed!?? he responded wildly and jumped into my open arms. We held on tight for a long emotional moment, calling each other?s name repeatedly. By the time we disengaged, all the palace staff, including the security minister and his entourage, had withdrawn to a respectable distance. They must not see the emotional display of the king.

This emotional outburst might appear unreasonable, considering all the wild, exciting experiences I had had so far. Meeting a friend after 2000 years of separation shouldn?t be such a big deal. But unreasonable as it might appear, I couldn?t help the tears, for deep inside me I felt a premonition of something terrible; this meeting would mark a great turning point in the entire drama of my life.

Eager to get to the bottom of it without much delay, I instructed the ushers to take care of him at once and get him ready to see me in as short a time as possible.

We met some moment later in one of my numerous living-rooms. The summary of my friend?s story was that he too had the same spiritual transformation that brought me here. But unlike my own experience, he landed on the outskirts of the kingdom. There was no one to receive him. He was on his own and unwelcome.

The purpose of his coming to the kingdom, according to him, was to save my soul. In the course of his spiritual ascent, he had seen me being crowned as a king and had prayed to God to let him come and advise me not to accept the rulership. In response to his prayer, God had landed him in the outskirts of the kingdom. And from there he had trekked through the days and nights, feeding from the dustbins for 2000 years.

?Just to get to you and save your soul,?? he said finally, with a voice full of sorrow.

But rather than being affected by the sorrow of it, I was amused... no, confused, by the incongruity of the story. Aspects like how he was able to beat the state-of-the-art security measures, trekking through the kingdom for 2000 years, could be easily explained. Since he didn?t swallow the micro device that transmitted one?s secret thoughts to the security alarm, he stood a good chance of picking his way through. The aspects that could not be easily explained were those that had to do with his so-called mission. If he was really my Messiah as he claimed, why didn?t God land him directly in the palace and prior to my being crowned. Why would God drop him 2000 years away from me? I looked at him intently, hoping I could read his mind and know what he was really up to. But his mind was not networked and so could not be penetrated.

?I know what you are thinking,? he said abruptly. ?You are wondering why God had to drop me 2000 years away from you. You can?t see the logic of it and so you are doubting my story.?

?Are you reading my mind?? I asked, startled.

?I read everybody?s mind. That?s why I?m able to get here safely despite the hi-tech security network.?

It was quite a rude surprise to realise that someone knew more than I, the king of Huza?u. I didn?t find it funny at all, especially when shamna further disclosed that only the priest could read his mind.

?I can read the priest?s mind,? he said. ?He too can read mine, but only when I?m in his physical presence. And the power is not the type that operates on your technology here, it is more authentic, more superior.?

?I see.? That was all I could say to that frightening revelation.

Even more frightening was Shamna?s insistence that I should abdicate the throne in compliance with God?s commandment. He insisted that God?s order must be obeyed despite the 2000 years time lag.

?Shamna, I think we should discuss something else,? I said. ?Both of us know that if God didn?t want me to be king, there?s no way I could have been. And if He had a change of heart, assuming that is possible, He wouldn?t have chosen you, knowing that you would arrive the palace 2000 years behind schedule.?

?That?s your problem!? he exclaimed, almost jumping out of his seat. ?That has always been your problem. You have an exaggerated view about your knowledge of God. You think God?s ways are easy target for intellectual interpretation. But the fact is that God?s ways, though straight forward, are very complicated when it comes to human comprehension and interpretation. And my coming late (as it appears) is part of the complications, the intricacies that makes God understandable only to those who choose to perceive him through their inner being rather than their so-called common sense.

?OK, now tell me, why would God want me out of the throne? What have I done??

?You have done nothing. And that is the problem. For 2000 years you have done nothing to better the lives of the people.?

?What do you mean by that?? I felt insulted. ?How else could their lives be? They are already living in paradise, as it were. All I have to do is to ensure that the level of development is maintained. And that?s what I?ve been doing relentlessly...?

?And what?s the level of development?? he cut in, in a jeering voice.

?You can see it yourself!? My blood pressure was rising fast.

?I can?t see anything. I can only see skyscrapers, beautiful streets, a magnificent palace and a powerful king. And I don?t call these signs of good living, for life means much more than that. The people need something more tangible than these cosmetics; something that would uplift their souls in the hereafter. This is not the end of the journey. And, I bet you, this wanton indulgence, gambling, and other materialistic tendencies won?t lead to the desired destination...?

?These are unfounded allegations! How do you know all these?? I unconsciously pushed off the table, upsetting its contents.

?Unfounded allegations indeed! You see, you have gone so astray that you think you can hide your sins from God. Now, tell me; apart from the priest, who among the citizens of this kingdom perform any form of worship??

?No one, including myself, perform any form of physical worship,? I admitted and went on to explain to him that, that aspect of spiritual engagement was not all that important as far as the people were concerned. The most important thing to them was the recognition of the existence of God and the undeniable reality that He is the creator of all things. I further explained to him that the people?s preference for the inward and private communion with God to the outward congregational rituals was perhaps informed by the fact that the ritualistic approach had the tendency of degenerating into religious exhibitionism.

But Shamna insisted that the inward recognition of the existence and power of God needs to be complemented with laid down religious rules and rituals. He said the act of worship was a constant reminder that helps to strengthen faith and belief and that, without it, the soul stands the risk of going astray.

Shamna insisted on his viewpoint and the debate raged on endlessly. At a point I could no longer contain his aggression, so I summarily dismissed him from my sight. And the following day I sentenced him to one year in Seaside Resort to cure him of what I considered to be a malady resulting from his 2000 years of suffering.

The resort was not a prison in the raw sense of the word. Nor was it the usual run of sanatoriums. It was a sort of paradise established for the purpose of taming radicals who asked too many questions about the affairs of the kingdom particularly regarding how it was being run. It was one of the most expensive, expansive and exotic establishments in the kingdom. All the good things of life, imaginable and unimaginable, were provided in such a quantity and quality that whoever went through the experience would never remain the same. By the time he left the resort he would have been so spoilt and made addicted to the pleasures therein that he would spend the rest of his life pursuing the material means by which he could keep on servicing his new taste.

But, surprisingly, when may friend came out of the resort at the end of the year, he was nowhere near change. If anything, he was more stubborn than ever. His very first remark, when I received him in the main palace, pointed dangerously to this fact.

?Thank you for your kindness,? he said sarcastically. ?But unfortunately the thought of a greater enjoyment didn?t allow me enjoy your hospitality to the fullest.?

?Don?t tell me you didn?t enjoy the treat,? I said, trying to conceal my surprise and disappointment. ?Your cheeks chubby and you look well-groomed.

?Yes. But I?m not feeling well-groomed. And if you would excuse me, it is time for us to leave!?

?You mean...?? My surprise and disappointment were now shoving each other in a manner that would inevitably spark into flames of anger.

?I mean we are leaving right now!? he screamed and jumped to his feet.

?Hey, take it easy...!?

?No, we are going right away!? he screamed louder. I was so confused I didn?t know what to do or say. ?We are leaving at once!? he repeated.

?To where, for God?s sake!? I sprang to my feet and charged towards him. But, as I raised my hand to strike him, a part of the wall of the palace suddenly cracked open and out popped a giant robot-like creature. The unexpectedness and strangeness of it set us on the run. After a few steps, however, we stopped to take another look, to assure ourselves what we saw was real.

?You are desecrating the throne!? it said in a voice that echoed thunderously through the entire palace. We stepped backwards as it approached menacingly. ?Leave now, your time is up!?

I had never seen a creature so ugly. Neither had I ever imagined that the palace harboured such a terrible image of death. For the past 2001 years I had been living with a deadly secret right in my own palace without knowing it. What other conspiratorial secrets were there? I tried to think. But there was no time to think. Not even enough time to figure out what the creature meant by ?your time is up,? for it was gradually advancing towards us, thundering repeatedly: ?Your time is up!?

As we turned to run out of the palace, it pointed at Shamna and a flash of light from its finger struck him down instantly. ?Your time is up!? it repeated, turning its finger torwards me...

?Sir, we have reached the tenth floor.? I heard a voice as if from a far distance. I shook my head to clear it of the drowsiness, and looked behind me. Then I realised I was in a lift and the voice was that of the lift attendant.

© Sumaila Umaisha.

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