Never forget who you were.
863 years ago
If there is something that everyone likes from holidays is the sensation of relax, that sensation you get when you are not under constant pressure of meeting all the deadlines imposed by your teachers, of being pressured to learn not so attractive topics, so when you are a nerd like me, being able to research those things that you actually like because of how they resemble science fiction is quite exciting, even if you don't really understand the concepts behind that new breakthrough.
Now, by research I did not meant going deep and search for the original theories, but more of reading articles and watching videos on youtube of simplified versions, so I could grasp the concept better. Then I would go deep If the simple versions were not enough.
And that was what I had been doing for at least three weeks since the beginning of the summer holidays, and at least 15 days since Christmas. Yep, Christmas on summer. Or at least when you live on the southern hemisphere of the planet.
Anyways, right in that moment I was searching for those videos under a heat of almost 40 degrees Celsius, which was an abnormal temperature for the template area in which I lived, but when you are in a quest to gather more knowledge, you can honestly give a crap about that, in the same fashion in which a gamer would not interrupt an online match for such thing.
But you know well, adults don't care about interrupting someone while doing something related to internet, and right when I was about to jump into the next one, I could listen to my grandmother calling me to the dinning room in order to eat lunch.
"Alex, lunch is ready!"
I sigh. "Coming..." I reply to her. Even if it annoyed me when that happened, at least this time wasn't in the middle of a video, so the moment could not be better.
I slide out of the desktop in my chair and then I make an 180 turn, which leaves me facing towards the door. I lazily get up of the chair and exit the room, and with only a few steps I reach the dinner-living room in which my grandparents were awaiting me with some homemade pasta. I loved food when it was homemade, as it had a special flavor that clearly showed who did it, and grandma's food was no exception. She clearly knew all the techniques... just like her.
...
"Alex, you there?" my grandfather asks me.
"Oh, um, yeah, I was only thinking about stuff" I tell him. No need to bring back those memories. I need to move forward.
After I sit down in the table my grandma comes into the room with the three plates of pasta that were still liberating their vapour, indicating the recent cooking of it. After she takes her seat, we start eating.
"So, what were you thinking about?" Grandpa, asks. Good thing I knew from adults that they have the tendency to ask about everything from their children, so I knew how to avoid THAT.
"I just saw some material on astronomy, more specifically about Tegmark's multiverse theory" I comment him. I knew that I would be able to take the conversation to something distant from them.
I must not forget, but I need to get over it.
"Ah yes, that theory. Sometimes I Imagine what worlds lay beyond our sight, may they be real or not" He says. He really likes it when we talk about astronomy. "Infinite worlds, infinite possibilities. Imagine if I met another version of me!" he exclaims. I chuckle at that thought. It would be weird to have two identical people that are not twins.
"Still, I think that it would contradict the great filter theory" I advise him. "If life is too common out there then we have not seen the worst cataclysms yet."
"True, but remember that the multiverse is supposed to be infinite, so if for example only one percent of the lifeforms managed to cross the filter, one percent of infinity is still infinity, even if it is a smaller infinity, making that filter only applicable into a system of limited proportions, so there is still the possibility of meeting my other versions and thus, Your argument is invalid." He emphasises the last part in English, which manages to extract a laugh from me after realising the reference to a meme that is almost dead. I found it surprising when I discovered that he liked memes, as they are mostly used by the people born around the beginning of this millennia.
"You have a point there. I just imagine how different and similar the multiverse might be to this bubble in which we live" I comment him. "Maybe out there we can find answers to things that we have been asking ourselves since we started thinking about them." Sometimes I surprise myself when it comes to thinking, but I think that everyone does it, only that I give more relevance to those thoughts than most people. Or at least I think.
...
Just ignore what I said.
"You know Alex, every time we speak about these topics you remind me of my old days, when I used to have the same curiosity of yours, only difference that you are interested in topics that are more advanced than your level, while sometimes I struggled to understand them. You surely are a knowledge sponge" he points out.
"Abuelo, please don't give me more credit than what I deserve. Last year I struggled with literature and history. I may know facts, but how to apply them it's another thing. I might be intelligent, but that does not make me wise unless I know how to use it." I counter him.
"He he, you are as humble as your mother when it comes to praising..."
...
"Yes..."
And after that, nothing else was said during the rest of the lunch.
After the meal I returned to my bedroom, and by now the boiling temperatures seemed to go down a bit since midday has passed, but when something improves and you realise it, you are literally invoking Murphy to ruin it all. And this time it was in the form of an Internet shutdown.
No need to say that I was beyond pissed, but that meant that I needed to use my plan B: play downloaded games. The catch: the only games I had were phone games and a Wii, and since I had recently eaten and the Wii games I had required movement, I had to content with my phone in order to avoid unnecessary stomach evacuations.
Hmm... what should I play? Yellow... no. I already had beaten the game many times. Red...no. Same reason. Alto's adventure... no. Not in the mood for endless runners. I need a good balance between complexity and simplicity. Dictator 2... YES. That game will do it. Management combined with decision making. And card battles.
I open the game and the first thing I do is think: regular campaign or special scenario? I had already maxed out all cards in the game without paying a cent. Better check out for any new scenarios. I'm in the mood for a different gameplay style.
Let's see. Siberian empire... no. Too difficult without extra money. The threat of great Asia... neither. Something else? I slide once more, and instead of being greeted by the coming soon screen, I find another scenario.
The world of magi-tech? Created by Dw33l? when did the developers let other people to make scenarios? Still, I was curious about it, so I checked it. It costed 1000 tyrants, which for an inexperienced player might look like a lot, but being able to accumulate lots of tyrants from daily missions is the key to success. I still had 1700 spare tyrants from other games, so I spent them to unlock the scenario, and in that moment I made a great mistake: I did not check for the objective nor the rewards. How I was going to regret that.
The nation of Silveria has succeeded among it's magical neighbours which had never accepted the non-magical humans of this great nation.
After a long period of negligence from part of the corrupt democracy in charge of Silveria you decided that it was enough and you took the matter with your own hands.
Now you are in charge after a successful rebellion. Will you be able to change the country for good and make allies in the way?
And in the instant that I finished reading the last paragraph, I did not thought that my life was going to take a big turn. And it started promptly by blacking out.
The "present"
I woke up after that memory ended. The first times I had the memory I would wake up like if I just had a nightmare, but since it was becoming too frequent it simply did not have the same effect as before, as it was not as disturbing as it used to be. I had to get over it. I needed to assimilate the fact that I was stuck here for the rest of my life. No point on crying over spilled milk.
I take a look at the smartphone. It says that it is almost 6 AM. It seems that today I was going to have plenty of time during the morning, just like I wanted.
First thing I do is to get some breakfast, a grilled cheese and ham sandwich with some orange juice. As I'm eating the breakfast I decide to take a look at the news, so I turned on the TV, So I could make some zapping through the channels.
Stock markets raise by five per cent after borders were opened... Uncertainty among possible opposing collectives... Other nations still did not make any official statements... Wait. No one yet? That's strange. I know that they do not have our communications technology, but with their magic at least the Equestrians would be the first to respond. And they always were. In a negative way. Regularly I would not endure more than a couple dozen turns without them declaring war to 'free Silveria from it's cruel dictatorship' when I had the support of the population. Sometimes I ask myself if the other nations were a bunch of morons. You don't go into war with a nation that is united. It will only end in a bloodbath and in a low morale in both sides, and in the worst case, an insurrection.
After finishing breakfast I take some sportive clothes and I get my bicycle in order to take a lap around the neighbourhood. As I go further, I can see that in some places some men in black are stationed along the route, possibly part of the secret service. I could also swear that I saw some snipers when approaching my house back again.
Now that I had completed my daily lap, it was time to take a shower in order to get clean. Some quick scrubs here and there and I was already finished. Then it was finally time to get dressed up for work. White shirt, black trousers and black coat. Of course I had my underwear and some proper shoes. Not mentioning them doesn't mean I'm not wearing them.
Finally It was time to go to work. I take the keys of the Mercedes and I exit my home.
After reaching the central district of the capital in which the offices were located, I proceeded towards my office in the 20th floor of the building. Under the building standards of the city this one was between the tallest with 50 floors, while the average is 20, so you can imagine how visible this building was in the city. Annexed to it was the ceremonial building, consisting of only 3 floors, from which I gave my speech yesterday. Now, you may be asking why would the government need such a big building, so to answer that, part of is due to the fact that Silveria is a federation. It has many states that resemble cultures back home, and thus It has always been logic to have members of each state in the centre of power. Also, the legislative, the executive and the judicial power were centred in the same building, and thus the need for a large space.
Finally I reach the floor, and when I get out the military personnel that was present immediately saluted. After dismissing them I go straight to my office, but not before talking with my adviser.
"Hi Carmen" I greet her. "Got any interesting news for today?"
"Oh, hey Alex, some people over here were worried that you were not present during the morning. Are you okay?"
"It seems I forgot to tell everyone I would be working during the afternoon, I want to enjoy mornings. They are the best moment of the day for cycling." I answer her.
"Well, then I shall remember to tell anyone that wants to talk with you when they can find you. Anyways, Charlie has been around since 9 AM asking If you were here. I sent him to the cafetería so that he could wait. Do you want to receive him?" She asks me. I remember that the oligarchs only won a cross in the last turn, so i must receive him. "Sure, tell him to come" I answer her.
"I will be back in a moment. I shall direct him to your office." She replies.
I proceed to my workplace and I take a seat. While I turn on the computer and I log in, there is a knock in the door and I see Charlie.
"Good afternoon sir" he replies. "I suppose that you were already informed of my presence?"
"Yes, my adviser told me. If you are here then I assume that you want something."
"Straight to the point, huh? Well, you know that I helped to fund the cause in the hope of... getting an advantage over the competition. And I know that you can do what I'm going to ask you. I only want to be exempted from the basic export fee."
pop
Exempt soft drink companies from export fees? [Y/N]
Hmm... If I accept my reputation among the oligarchs would increase for sure, and maybe between the people and the mafia, due to the fact that... well... people like cheap stuff when they travel, and, even If I did not like it, less fees usually means less inspection, meaning that the mafia would be able to export drugs easier. On the other hand, I'm quite sure that the liberal opposition is not going to like the decision. And let's not talk about how the police was not going to like not being able to obtain money from the fees. Still, I think I already made up my mind.
"Sure, that's not so radical, so it will go very smooth among the population. Just write up a proper decree and I will sign it. Be careful, I'm going to read every single word of it"
"I already took my time to write it" he says as he hands me a sheet of paper. "Take your time to read it. I'm sure that you will approve it."
I unnecessarily get my glasses (since I have difficulties at looking far away, not when reading things) and I dedicate some time to read the document. I found the clauses to be quite simple, and I did not detect any loophole on it.
"Well... approved as requested" and I immediately sign up the document. "I will send a copy to the broadcasting network so that people know, but I will try to make it slide between other news. We need to prevent the opposition from taking advantage of it."
"Well, I think my business over here is done" He says as we shake hands. "Thank you Alexander".
"No problem, as long as the requests are within reason". And with that, Charlie left the office.
pop
Decision results
You won a tyrant.
Your reputation among the people increased by 1.
Your reputation among the oligarchs increased by 1.
Your reputation among the mafia increased by 1.
Your reputation among the opposition decreased by 1.
Your reputation among the police decreased by 1.
You randomly lost a cross from the police.You lost 100.000 credits from the decision.
You gained 100.000 credits from the oil derricks.
You gained 5.000 credits from the banks.
Net balance: +5.000
Well, I should better watch out for the police. Apart from that, I'm not going to have any serious problems, since it seems that Equestria has not declared war yet. But still, I did not know that something else was going on Celestia's mind.
And it involved me.
Stats
Page generated in 0.03 seconds
Total duration
756 users online
954,469 hits today, 1,872,792 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
What's Dictator 2?
9165854
Check it on google play or appstore (if it was released there).
I'm definitely interested in seeing where this story goes. Xd
I've never played the game, who's the opposition?
Can't wait for the next AWESOME chapter!!!
I know this was based off of a mobile game, but it also reminds me of another one called Lapes. Check it out its a good game.
9167826
I know about lapse. Maybe I can add some elements from it.
Any news of a update soon
9187862
I hope to finish the next chapter this week. I try to take my time to ensure that It has the least number of errors.
9188688
Yes!
Next chapter is getting delayed due to the importance I consider it has, and I'm stuck trying to find a way around. So don't worry, the story is still up, I already know how I want it to progress.
The f**k?
9242552
?
When next awesome chapter?
9256759
Hopefully soon. this chapter is the most challenging one by far.
9256857
Awesome!
I still have hope for this story
9288242
It's not dead. Just having trouble conveying ideas.
9288492
That's why i still have hope, some people think its dead. But i don't think its dead, your just trying to figure out what comes next so it doesn't become cringy and bad, and that's why i will stand by this story till the end no matter what.
9288862
Thanks for your support!
9288957
Your welcome dude, or chick, or helicopter.
9289161
Dude should be the term.
9289214
I say helicopter because a guy got mad at me for calling him dude, so i called him a helicopter.
9289855
Lol