- Sep 22, 2013
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This is a pro-mercantilism yarn (perfect for our age of commerce!) inspired by the imaginarium-dissection films Toys and The Golden Compass.
Signing off,
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A special royal court in India was home to a fabled Indian king and queen named Amlan and Kaya. This court was much esteemed and celebrated, and the king and queen talked about the glory and fostering of their children, the heirs to the kingdom (Arjun, the firstborn son, Ayisha, the second-born and eldest sister, and the two twins Aditya and Alix). The kingdom was called Destiny, and they cared as much about politics as they did about religion and culture.
A strange visitor came upon Destiny and wanted to meet the king and queen (Amlan and Kaya). He carried in his bag three botis (Indian rustic kitchen-tool comprised of a blade-and-board and used for cutting foods on the floor with hand-and-foot). The stranger's name was Damien, and he believed that Destiny should outlaw the distribution of all botis, since they were deadly and led to many kitchen accidents by women mishandling them. Even the small child of a woman cooking in the kitchen was harmed with the boti. Amlan and Kaya were intrigued by this 'sanction-challenge.'
King Amlan did not want to outlaw a commercial item outright, since he was opposed to things like censorship, however, he did recognize Damien's concern that the boti was causing as much harm as it did good, so he consulted with his Queen about the proper procedure. Kaya recommended that the court recruit competing knights from faraway lands to run through a pre-made 'gauntlet' which would contain hidden botis (like mines); the objective would be to complete the gauntlet and retrieve as many botis as possible before the competitors. Amlan loved the idea and wanted to use the 'boti-gauntlet contest' as a way to advertise the dangers of the kitchen-tool without resorting to fascism.
Unfortunately, a mischievous knight named Lance showed up at one of the competitions (which had now become quite famous throughout India!) with his own 'manner' of competing. Lance wanted all his competitors to gamble before running the gauntlet to see who could win money from the competition. Lance's intention was to use Destiny's now-famous boti-gauntlet contest to promote gambling and recreational humor. This was detrimental to Damien's special mercantile 'mission,' so he advised King Amlan that gambling pits in the boti-gambling contest would only create vagrancy and undesirable mischief and may bring ignominy to Destiny. Amlan agreed (as did Kaya!), so Amlan demanded Lance cease his gambling operations. Amlan then proceeded to 'market' his savvy boti-gauntlet contest to gently remind people throughout the land that botis required great care and were invisibly dangerous!
Lance left Destiny fuming and swore revenge. Lance resolved to corrupt the daughters of Amlan and Kaya someday by propositioning them with tempting and seductive offers that would sway them away from their courtly etiquette. However, Damien was forever grateful to King Amlan and Queen Kaya, so he pursued Lance, ensuring that the would not make trouble for Destiny in any way. Amlan and Kaya remained happy in their kingdom and their children grew to become prosperous and wise, and Damien kept his promise by shielding Destiny from the corrupting hand of the mischievous knight Lance. Meanwhile, Indian botis were now considered sacrosanct and people (especially women) considered them to be items of great use but also great danger. Destiny would be hailed as a true 'governance guardian' of kitchen goods.
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Signing off,
====
A special royal court in India was home to a fabled Indian king and queen named Amlan and Kaya. This court was much esteemed and celebrated, and the king and queen talked about the glory and fostering of their children, the heirs to the kingdom (Arjun, the firstborn son, Ayisha, the second-born and eldest sister, and the two twins Aditya and Alix). The kingdom was called Destiny, and they cared as much about politics as they did about religion and culture.
A strange visitor came upon Destiny and wanted to meet the king and queen (Amlan and Kaya). He carried in his bag three botis (Indian rustic kitchen-tool comprised of a blade-and-board and used for cutting foods on the floor with hand-and-foot). The stranger's name was Damien, and he believed that Destiny should outlaw the distribution of all botis, since they were deadly and led to many kitchen accidents by women mishandling them. Even the small child of a woman cooking in the kitchen was harmed with the boti. Amlan and Kaya were intrigued by this 'sanction-challenge.'
King Amlan did not want to outlaw a commercial item outright, since he was opposed to things like censorship, however, he did recognize Damien's concern that the boti was causing as much harm as it did good, so he consulted with his Queen about the proper procedure. Kaya recommended that the court recruit competing knights from faraway lands to run through a pre-made 'gauntlet' which would contain hidden botis (like mines); the objective would be to complete the gauntlet and retrieve as many botis as possible before the competitors. Amlan loved the idea and wanted to use the 'boti-gauntlet contest' as a way to advertise the dangers of the kitchen-tool without resorting to fascism.
Unfortunately, a mischievous knight named Lance showed up at one of the competitions (which had now become quite famous throughout India!) with his own 'manner' of competing. Lance wanted all his competitors to gamble before running the gauntlet to see who could win money from the competition. Lance's intention was to use Destiny's now-famous boti-gauntlet contest to promote gambling and recreational humor. This was detrimental to Damien's special mercantile 'mission,' so he advised King Amlan that gambling pits in the boti-gambling contest would only create vagrancy and undesirable mischief and may bring ignominy to Destiny. Amlan agreed (as did Kaya!), so Amlan demanded Lance cease his gambling operations. Amlan then proceeded to 'market' his savvy boti-gauntlet contest to gently remind people throughout the land that botis required great care and were invisibly dangerous!
Lance left Destiny fuming and swore revenge. Lance resolved to corrupt the daughters of Amlan and Kaya someday by propositioning them with tempting and seductive offers that would sway them away from their courtly etiquette. However, Damien was forever grateful to King Amlan and Queen Kaya, so he pursued Lance, ensuring that the would not make trouble for Destiny in any way. Amlan and Kaya remained happy in their kingdom and their children grew to become prosperous and wise, and Damien kept his promise by shielding Destiny from the corrupting hand of the mischievous knight Lance. Meanwhile, Indian botis were now considered sacrosanct and people (especially women) considered them to be items of great use but also great danger. Destiny would be hailed as a true 'governance guardian' of kitchen goods.
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