Part 3: The War Begins
Chapter 35: Fool’s Wealth
A week had passed since the House of Divine Knowledge temple massacre. Polly and Jennifer had built a small memorial in the Downs Agriculture Zone for those killed in the massacre. Polly was pleasantly surprised by Jennifer’s change in attitude. It seemed she had grasped some aspects of empathy.
Even in Colin’s absence, the Economic Institute had gone ahead developing their new currency. Its first iteration was a simple paper currency backed by the gold transferred to the Downs Region vault. This paper currency was now ready to be distributed to the citizens of the Empire. The first distribution was to be done in the Downs Region. The rollout would then continue to the underground cities and, finally, the East and West Camps.
With the rollout of the currency, citizens would also be given a bank account with the Economic Institute. For them to access their account, they would be required to have their faces scanned. This was for the new facial recognition initiative.
Tiberius; Hermon, who was now the head of the Economic Institute; Duffo, the new Head Philosopher; Henders; and Benny had made their way to the stage in the town square. They were going to officially launch the new currency. On either side of the stage, several dozen tables had been set up to distribute the paper money and photograph the residents for their bank account and the facial recognition technology. The launch was being broadcast across the Downs Region.
Tiberius walked to the centre of the stage and stood behind the podium. The crowd politely applauded him. ‘Good morning, citizens of our great Empire,’ said Tiberius proudly. ‘Today is a truly historic day. Today, I give you wealth. Today, I give you security.’
The crowd applauded.
‘Let me hand you over to our new head of the Economic Institute, Hermon,’ said Tiberius as he gestured to Hermon to speak. ‘He’ll explain everything to you.’
Tiberius stood back, and Hermon positioned himself behind the podium.
‘Time to bathe in the spotlight,’ said Herman emphatically as his head moved from side to side. ‘Can we get a “Hermon” chant going?’
The crowd was initially quiet. Then both Henders and Benny raised both thumbs up, and the crowd responded by chanting ‘Hermon’. Hermon tilted his head back and raised his hands to the sky. The chant continued for around half a minute.
‘That’s the spirit,’ said Hermon as he lowered his arms. ‘I’ll tell you something. You’re going to love me even more when I tell you what I’ve got for you.’
The crowd cheered loudly. Hermon grinned broadly.
‘You’re all going to be very wealthy,’ said Hermon confidently. ‘We’re going to share all the gold in the vault with everyone. We’re going to do it by issuing you promissory notes. These notes guarantee you a portion of this massive gold reserve.’
The crowd erupted in applause. Tiberius, Henders, Benny, and Duffo joined in with the applause.
‘These notes, which will be used as our currency, will be called “Tibers” after our great Emperor,’ announced Hermon as he raised his eyebrows up and down. ‘You’re probably wondering what you’re going to do with these Tibers. It’s easy! You use them to buy the stuff you want. And you receive them for your services to the Empire. The more you do, the more you get, and the more stuff you can buy. Life is going to be so good!’
The crowd erupted in applause.
‘The Economic Institute employees stationed at the tables set up on either side of the stage will issue these notes to you,’ said Hermon proudly. ‘If you have any questions, just ask my assistant, Benny,’ he continued as he placed his arm around Benny. ‘He may look like a weirdo and has a whiny accent, but he knows what he’s talking about.’
Within minutes, the crowd began to form queues in front of the tables.
‘I love the enthusiasm,’ said Hermon as he pumped his fist. ‘While you patiently and orderly queue up for your money. Let me tell you about your bank account. Yes! A bank account full of cash. You’ll be able to go to the Economic Institute mini-branches and withdraw more Tiber notes so that you can buy more stuff. Soon, you won’t even need to do that. Direct transactions between accounts will soon be available to all. Sounds good, huh! Well, I have even more great news. Before you get your bank account, we’re going to take your photograph. This will ensure only you can access your bank account. It’ll keep your money safe. It’ll also keep all of us safe because we’ll have everyone’s face on record. It’ll allow us to effortlessly track down any criminals.’
The queued-up crowd applauded enthusiastically. Hermon stepped back from the podium.
‘What you said was hurtful and not at all true,’ Benny said to Hermon as they both walked away from the podium.
‘Well, I didn’t want to tell them you’re a useless idiot,’ chuckled Hermon as he slapped Benny on the back.
‘Thank you, Hermon,’ said Tiberius, who had now taken his place at the podium. ‘That was very informative. I hope everyone enjoys his or her newfound wealth. If you work hard and are deeply loyal, your wealth will increase very quickly.’
Tiberius turned around and exited the stage from the back. He climbed into his Sape-drawn chariot. His imperial guards cleared a passage for him to leave the town square.
The process of distributing the money and creating bank accounts and facial recognition continued until late into the evening.
That evening, Tiberius, Duffo, Miro, and Hermon met in the hotel restaurant. They were enjoying supper together.
‘Let’s have a few progress updates,’ said Tiberius as he looked at Hermon. ‘Since it’s your big day, tell us how it went.’
‘A huge success,’ boasted Hermon. ‘Putting me in charge was a brilliant move. Then again, you always make brilliant moves, Your Imperial Majesty.’
‘Stop brown-nosing and give us some facts,’ demanded Duffo.
‘The entire reserve of gold has been valued at one trillion Tibers,’ replied Hermon as he looked at Duffo. ‘Half of that has been allocated to the Empire. The rest is being allocated to the citizens of the Empire. One tenth of that is in notes, and the rest are numbers in their and our bank accounts. You can look in your accounts right now. I’ve already credited them. Go on! Take a look on your phones.’
Everyone pulled out their phones. Tiberius accessed his account using his password, and everyone else used their faces.
‘Nice!’ replied Duffo. ‘Looks like I’m a multi-billionaire.’
‘I gave both you and the Grand Vizier ten billion Tibers each,’ remarked Hermon. ‘I only gave myself a humble five billion.’
‘That’s incredibly humble of you,’ chuckled Tiberius.
‘I hope you find my allocation to you, My Imperial Majesty, to be acceptable,’ said Hermon, leaning forward.
‘I would say it was an appropriate amount,’ replied Tiberius. ‘Thank you, Hermon. Miro, give me an update on our enforcers and soldiers.’
‘We have increased the number of enforcers tenfold,’ replied Miro. ‘This is the current limit to our expansion, as our supply of equipment and weapons is stretched as far as possible. We are rapidly producing more weapons in the underground cities to address any shortages.’
‘That is very promising, indeed,’ replied Tiberius.
‘At this point, most new recruits have only received very minimal training,’ added Miro. ‘They are many months away from reaching desired standards.’
‘You can’t beat on-the-job training,’ remarked Tiberius. ‘Real combat experience will turn them into great warriors. Well, the ones that survive.’
Duffo began to chuckle.
‘Yes, absolutely,’ replied Miro.
‘I have a perfect mission for them,’ said Tiberius. ‘I’ll discuss it with you tomorrow over breakfast.’
‘I’d be honoured, Your Imperial Majesty,’ replied Miro as he respectfully nodded.
‘Duffo, what’s it like to be Head Philosopher, and what have you been doing?’ asked Tiberius as a waiter placed a plate of sweetbreads on the table.
‘Extremely spiritually uplifting,’ chuckled Duffo. ‘The higher power tells me that we should glorify you as much as we glorify him.’
‘It certainly sounds like your spiritual side has awoken,’ said Tiberius, sounding excited.
‘He has been honoured with a temple,’ continued Duffo. ‘He wants you to be honoured with a magnificent palace.’
‘I’ve been so occupied thinking about the Empire and its citizens, I’d forgotten about myself,’ sighed Tiberius. ‘I suppose a suite in a hotel is not appropriate accommodation for an Emperor.’
‘You always put others before yourself,’ remarked Miro. ‘That’s what makes you a truly great leader.’
‘I’ll order the technicians to build you the most magnificent palace Sapey has ever seen,’ said Duffo firmly. ‘It’ll make Waldo’s one look like a dump.’
‘If that is the will of the higher power, I have no right to disagree,’ chuckled Tiberius as he picked up a sweet bread.
The four of them spent the next half-an-hour enjoying their supper. After the others had left, Head Enforcer approached Tiberius.
‘The pursuit of Colin has not gone well,’ said Head Enforcer in a flat tone. ‘It appears he has killed most of our pursuing enforcers.’
‘What do you mean by “appears”?’ asked Tiberius, sounding confused.
‘We found the remains of five or six of them,’ said Head Enforcer. ‘He or something else ate them.’
‘I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised,’ chuckled Tiberius. ‘Cannibalism comes naturally to these monsters. Where were the remains found?’
‘About three hours west of here,’ replied Head Enforcer. ‘Do you wish me to send more enforcers?’
‘We have an army of enforcers in the west,’ replied Tiberius. ‘Inform Captain Cecil; he’s his problem now.’
‘Yes, Your Imperial Majesty,’ replied Head Enforcer.
‘I would like the imperial guards to escort me to Lily,’ said Tiberius. ‘We need to catch up.’
‘As you command, Your Imperial Majesty,’ replied Head Enforcer.
A little later, Tiberius arrived at the trailer Lily was kept in. An imperial guard opened the trailer door. Lily was strung up near the back of the trailer. Her hands and legs were chained to either side of the trailer, stretching her as far as possible. Her hair had been shaved off, and she was wearing a dirty rag barely covering her.
‘You’re not looking so good any more,’ chuckled Tiberius as he approached Lily. Two imperial guards entered the trailer behind him and then closed the door.
‘Don’t be so cocky,’ replied Lily as she stared at Tiberius. ‘Your time will be over soon.’
‘I recall you telling me that if I tried to kill you, you’d turn me into a mindless zombie,’ chuckled Tiberius. ‘Now that isn’t going to happen.’
‘Go ahead then, you pathetic wimp,’ replied Lily as she continued to stare at Tiberius.
‘As you wish,’ said Tiberius. He turned to his imperial guards. ‘Remove that rag,’ he continued. ‘I want her stripped of all her dignity.’
One of the imperial guards grabbed the rag covering Lily and ripped it from her body.
‘Your skin is beautiful,’ said Tiberius loudly. ‘You have really taken care of yourself. What unholy ointment have you used?’
‘The glow of the higher power,’ replied Lily angrily. ‘Something you’ll never experience.’
‘Even now, you spout your shit,’ said Tiberius aggressively. ‘Jennifer told me all about Jeed. You and the House of Divine Knowledge benefited from the suffering and killing of babies. You’re pure evil.’
‘You’re insane!’ scoffed Lily.
‘Killing you now would be to the benefit of the Empire,’ said Tiberius calmly. ‘But it won’t help you. Your soul will be forever lost. Even though you’re evil, that still pains my kind soul.’
‘Is that it?’ sighed Lily. ‘You want me to choke on my own vomit.’
‘I want to cleanse you of your evil,’ chuckled Tiberius. ‘Then, maybe you can join the higher power.’ Tiberius turned to his imperial guards while stepping back a little. ‘Whip that beautiful skin. The evil that possesses her lurks below the surface. I want you to release it.’
The two imperial guards picked up a whip each.
‘You sick bastard!’ shouted Lily.
One imperial guard walked behind Lily, and the other stayed in front facing her. Tiberius stood a little to one side so he could watch.
Both imperial guards began whipping her. Tiberius watched on in joy. Lily screamed in agony after every lash.
After the tenth lash from both imperial guards, Tiberius shouted, ‘Halt!’
Lily’s head hung forward, and blood poured from her mouth.
Tiberius walked up to Lily and whispered in her ear, ‘I know there’s a little something else in you. I’ll be back every couple of days. You really need a lot of cleansing before I could, in good conscience, send you on your way.’
Sapien Loop: Worlds Collide
Sapien Loop: Worlds Collide is the final book in the Sapien Loop trilogy. It continues directly after the events of the second book. The world above and the world below merge into one world. The conflicts in the underground world are brought to the surface. The new ruling elite attempt to crush any resistance from above and below in an attempt to create a new global empire.
Currently, three books from the series have been published on Amazon; see the links below:
All individual chapters can be found on my 