- Location
- Op een dag, Nederland.
- Pronouns
- she/her & ne/nem
Lampsland
The Division of Lampsland is at once quiet, yet disorientingly eerie. Dominated by rich fertile plains, it has became one of the local breadbasket regions for the general sector, and has generally developed a reputation for being "the quiet place". People who want to retire go there
But there is a secret within Lampsland that locals Do Not Want To Talk About. Hmm, very insistent. The place is generally nice, the food filling, the politics generally "sensible" and kind of boring. Right? Right?
Division Assembly of Lampsland
I'm reliably told that this place has 201 seats. A nice low number for a reasonably populated but rural place. The woman who told me, has introduced herself as Crystal Douglas-Home, the leader of the Liberal Party (106 seats), and the Governor of this place. She has been very willing to show me around, as I've persuaded the Symphonian Government to send me around the planet of Rutland as a general envoy. Upon being asked what the Liberals were like, as I'm aware that Liberalism covers a lot of varying views, Douglas-Home explained it as "freedom to be" - freedom to be what you want to be, freedom to establish business, freedom to prosper. Upon prodding, she ultimately said "socially moderately-liberal, fiscally conservative with liberal mentality" which satisfied my curiousity
Entering the office of the Leader of the Opposition, one Warren Dubois, the man himself rose to shake my hand. The leader of the rather long-winded Social Democratic and Labour Party (41 seats) [although he said everyone calls them the Social Democrats] was in a generally defeated mood the day, which he explained away by the flagging poll numbers - "Douglas-Home is popular. Unfortunately". Upon being asked what the SDL was all about, he went into a lyrical retelling of the SDL standing and fighting for rural and urban workers, their paychecks, their right to unionise, all of that, before finally concluding with a "or at least that's what we sell ourselves on. We're basically the anti-Liberal party at this point". Upon me asking him if there were a Conservative party, as most places I've been to had them, Dubois grimaced and nodded "they're the third biggest party. Their office is across the street" before wishing to move on to better things such as why I was there as the envoy
Suzie Bellamy, the leader of the Conservative Party (21 seats), was not in the office that day, but I managed to get a call on my eyephone with her. She sounded mildly annoyed, but trying to not show it. She was apparently working in the field that day "unlike those city slickers Home and Dubois". Upon my introducing myself as the envoy from the Imperial Government, she asked me rather bluntly "have you any experience of anywhere that isn't that ridiculously huge city?" meaning Oruscat, the capital. I said that I was originally from a place in the suburbs but she interrupted me with a "so, not really" then moved on to "the questions you probably want to ask me". I asked her what the Conservatives stood for. And she gave me a fairly... well "radical"-tinted answer, talking about "the voice of the rural people, ignored by the city slickers. We stand up for values, for morality, for basic decency against social engineering and merciless cuts". Thanking her for her time, I went back to Douglas-Home [by this time eating her lunch and slightly irked at my inconvenient timing] what and where the fourth party of politics were - I was determined to find all parties and understand them so that I could understand the politics of a division I would be a regular visitor to
This was the Farmers and Fishermen League (12 seats). I instinctively felt that I was moving on from the "major" parties to the smaller ones when I entered their office and found a lot of rural-y and maritime-y posters around but not a lot of people. One man was there, a portly but sweet-disposed figure who introduced himself as Tony Wiebe, the leader of the FFL - "I heard you would want to talk to me, so I stayed around". How considerate of him. I told him that I've endured a rant from Bellamy about rural concerns and how the Conservatives were standing up for it. How is the FFL any different? He chuckled and told me that while the Conservatives stood for rural conservatism, leaving farmers alone, they were also the party most opposed to the idea of farming alliances, co-operatives and generally anything that violated their sense of conservatism. Upon me also pointing out that I heard Dubois talk on about standing up for farmers too, Wiebe explained that the FFL stood for the "middle way" between the right-wing Conservatives and left-wing SDL, as contrasting to the more urban Liberals. "Of course... that was in the past. Now?" he said, sighing. The Liberals' popularity must have dealt a big hit to the FFL's whole raison d'etre. Making excuses, I left
Exiting the FFL building, I crashed into a muscular black-shirted woman who said in a firm voice "Our Leader would like to see you". Upon my protestations, she lifted me up and threw me in the back seat of a car that immediately left. Upon our arrival to the destination, a suave bearded man opened the door and said in a gentle voice "My sincere apologies if Martha hurt you in any way, I expressly told her to be light", and then introduced himself as Jay Reilly, leader of the National Society (8 seats). "You may have heard of us as the Shirtless Ones. That was our moniker back when we were under different management". Recalling Dubois' muttering of them as "fascists, the whole lot of them", my approach was to be extremely diplomatic given what I already experienced. Asking him what the National Society stood for, he insisted on it being done over a meal which he furnished for us. Eating on rich Lampslander food, he described the NS' purpose as "standing for purity in an impure world, for truth in a truthless world, for values in a world that lost them" and emphasised that the NS was not a terrorist party which made me think they were one more. After our meal was finished, he told me "the next party you want to see is the commies. They're known as Voice of the something. The driver knows where they are, so just tell her to drive you there". Reilly is a nice man, but he leads a very dubious party
The headquarters of the next party was obvious. It was draped in red with symbols everywhere. The driver stopped a block away and dropped me off, before leaving. I entered the headquarters and was met by people in berets - "Halt, comrade. State your business". I explained to them that I was the envoy and I understood that I could meet the leader. After a while waiting and arguing between themselves what was the "proletariat" thing to do, they let me in. "Hello, comrade! Welcome! Sit down!" a dark-haired woman in a black shirt and bomber jacket topped by a red beret shouted to me and I obeyed her command. She introduced herself as Daisy Fitzroy, leader of the Voice of the Many (5 seats). Well, not technically leader, more something like "general secretary of the committee of the whatever", but "everyone treats me as the leader anyway". Upon on being asked what her party was about, in her words, she gladly told me "Communism! We stand for the liberation of the workers, as told so in the People's Manifesto! We follow Utkinite-Sonnenist thought very closely, as it is the answer to all our problems!". Well, I should have expected that. But her face turned less glad and asked me what purpose I was there. After I finished explaining that I was the envoy from the Empire, she said that I was a bourgeois agent and should leave at once. Well, I certainly obliged her request! But I couldn't help but ask what was the next smallest party after them. "The Scepticals. They're a bunch of bourgeois scum. They annoy us by having their building right opposite us. Fuck them"
Crossing the street while wondering why parties here set up headquarters very close to each other, I immediately saw that it was very sleek and modern, as contrast with the communists' more "archaic" set-up. There was even a receptionist. I asked if I could see the party leader and I was informed that she was at the Assembly. Nodding, I asked for a car to go there and the receptionist told me it was only five minutes walk. So that was why the buildings were so close. Walking there, I saw a tall, thin woman in a well-fitted suit exit. "Ah, you must be the envoy that others have told me of!" she said as she approached me. Introducing herself as Angie Ebdon, leader of the Sceptical Unionist Party (4 seats), she gestured to a near park and said "It's such a beautiful day. Why spend it indoors?". Nodding, we walked to a park bench and sat down. "So, I gather you've been asking others what their parties are like. Well, here's what my Scepticals are like. We are generally against radicalism. We want slow, steady, well-considered reforms. We don't want to repeal everything. We don't want to change everything. We want sustainable change, change that forms a consensus". Upon being asked why they're not Liberals or Conservatives, Ebdon chuckled and said "The Liberals are too wedded to liberal dogma, the Conservatives have nothing in common with us any longer. It's why we left". After a while conversing, I glanced down at my notebook and noticed that there were four more seats. One last party? Asking Ebdon of this, she stiffed up and firmly shook her head - "No. No such party exists. Those four are just independents, not worth your time". Sensing that something was up, I accepted her request and finished the talk
It took me hours of investigation, and the twin moons were now above me, but I found those four seats belonged to a party. Nobody were willing to tell me, insisting "it's just independents" or "you're mistaken". Douglas-Home even told me "I said 197, not 201" contradicting what I wrote down at the time. But when I reached Reilly, he just shook his head and sighed "You're going to regret it. But I can see you won't give up. My driver has been told to deliver you to... them. May the Gods have mercy on your soul". This from a leader of a fascist party, it made me momentarily reconsider my decision, but I forged on and entered the car which drove me out of the city and into the plains. There was a bonfire surrounded by hooded people in the distance that kept getting closer and closer until it was here. The driver shoved me out of the car and left suddenly
What fresh hell did I get myself into? The hooded people turned their heads at me. I stood up and shook the dust off my body before approaching them. "I... I'm the envoy to Rutland from Symphonia... I understand this is the smallest party in the Assembly?" I said nervously. A hooded figure came closer to me and lifted their hood to reveal a shaven-haired woman. "Hello. We have been expecting you". This once-hooded woman refused to tell me her name, but told me that she was the chief priest of the Pact of the Many-Eyed One (4 seats). Shakily asking her what was her party about, she told me quite frankly "protecting Lampsland from the Many-Eyed One's wrath". Pressing on, I asked her what that meant, hoping against hope that it was just some boring centrist party with a fetish for roleplaying. "Blood has to be shed to appease Them". What blood? Sensing my unspoken question, the woman gestured to a poor tied-up child, freshly killed and his blood draining in a bowl. Oh God! "Are you going to tell what you have seen here?" one of the hooded figures said. The leader added on to this by saying "Everyone in Lampsland knows of this price. They will not help you if you decide to go against us". So this was why the place felt eerie. "What is your decision?" My entire body shook as I felt violently sick at what I just witnessed. I said "i... I won't tell". The hooded figures then turned around to face the bonfire. The leader faced me as I fell unconscious before her
I woke up in the hospital, my body dead of any curiousity. I had enough of this place. I wanted to leave. Governor Douglas-Home shook her head and said "You should have listened" before confirming that arrangements have been made for my journey out of Lampsland