PART 1 — The King’s Problem
The King did not know empathy.
If he saw somebody in pain, he felt nothing. If he watched a child cry, he felt nothing. And if he saw an injured bird on the road, he would press the sole of his boot on top of it without a second thought.
This was just as he governed.
The people lacked food, yet the King felt nothing. And did nothing. For in his palace, he had all the food he would ever need.
The people lacked medicine, yet the King felt nothing. And did nothing. For in his palace, he had all the medicine he would ever need.
The people lacked education, yet the King felt nothing. And did nothing. For in his palace, he had all the books and scholars he would ever need.
In his palace built entirely of solid gold, he was the most powerful King in all the land.
But the King had a problem. One thorn in his side. One little nuisance that kept him awake at night.
From nowhere, a man had appeared. His name: Rohe
Rohe spoke atop a platform in the streets to the people. He spoke of the unjust nature of The King’s rule, of the palace made of solid gold and the endless luxuries stored within it.
Rohe blamed the King for the hunger the people had suffered. And he blamed the King for the deaths of brothers, sisters, children, mothers and fathers due to the lack of medicine.
And finally, Rohe told the people to rise up against the King, storm the palace of solid gold and take back control of their food, their medicine and their land.
Worst of all, to the King’s terror, the people had begun to support Rohe. In the streets, Rohe would draw thousands of supporters. “Freedom for the people” they would chant in unison.
The King was utterly furious. How dare these low-born peasants chant such things. How dare these stupid, ignorant and inferior men even consider stealing his rightfully owned riches.
Something had to be done.
Not knowing what to do, he spoke to his 3 most trusted advisors.
The first advisor suggested he have Rohe killed.
The second advisor suggested he have Rohe thrown in jail.
The third advisor, the most cunning and mischievous of the 3, disapproved of the plans of the first 2 advisors. Killing him or throwing him in jail, he explained, would encourage the crowds still further.
Instead, he suggested something different entirely. He suggested they turn the people against Rohe.
“How?” asked the King curiously. “How can we turn the people against him”?
The third advisor adjusted the large, rounded glasses that lay on top his big, crooked nose and grew a mischievous smile. “Why the newspapers, of course.”
PART 2 — The Third Advisor
The lands had hundreds of different newspapers, but only 3 main ones, which were by far the most widely read.
The people believed these newspapers to be run by well-meaning people who aimed to tell them honestly of the goings-on throughout the world.
The truth was different.
While it was made to appear that these newspaper were run independently, they were in fact controlled by the King himself. Whenever the King needed, he could control everything that was written inside one of the 3 main newspapers.
The King granted the cunning third advisor the task of turning the people against Rohe. And so, the third advisor began his research:
To his dismay, he found Rohe to be perfect. A true hero.
Through his research, he discovered several things about Rohe:
– He had a loving wife and two young children.
– He had grown up poor and had managed to create a little bit of wealth through hard work on his farm.
– He was strong, with big, bulging muscles and a handsome face.
– On his farm worked 10 white men and 2 black men, all of whom he treated with great kindness and respect.
– He was rarely at home with his family. He was always working, helping at the local school or in the streets doing his speeches.
Upon finishing his research, a crooked smile crept upon the face of the third advisor. He adjusted his spectacles and muttered to himself.
“This is all I need…”
PART 3 — The Article
Rohe — The People’s Hero Or Attention Seeking Conspiracy Theorist?
Rising from an obscure background, Rohe the so-called “Hero” has ballooned in popularity in recent months. Everywhere he goes, commotion follows; drawing crowds of thousands of worshipping fans who hang on every word he says.
He has been reported bellowing his ideology in Lockwood, Brimshore, Farmsdale and even as far as Watershire. It seems as though Rohe is a mastermind at drawing the attention of others. Where does this attention go? Well, to himself of course. With his handsome dark hair and muscular physique, public image is seemingly the fuel that Mr Rohe feeds on. ‘
“He’s come from God! He’s like God himself!” exclaimed one of his fanatic supporters as we interviewed them.
Mr Rohe’s main message seems to be against the King himself; spouting obscure claims such as “The King is keeping all the food for himself while the people starve!”, he cried into a crowd in Lockwood last week. Of course, this isn’t a new line of thought, with other such violent figures as “John the Terrorist” and the now proven liar and fraud Christopher Whittle.
Experts tend to agree that the food hardship some are currently facing is due to a series of unfortunately poor harvests as well as changing whether conditions. We asked the lead food resource advisor in the kingdom for his opinion on the matter. “We’ve heard this all before” he said while holding back a laugh, “Mr Rohe is just parroting the same old conspiracy theories we hear every year”.
While Mr Rohe screams non-stop of the riches of others, his own wealth has been quietly building. Donations from his fanatic supporters have allowed him to purchase a second piece of farmland on top his already wealthy estate. Unsurprisingly, his workforce consists of almost entirely white men with a mere handful of coloured workers throughout his farms.
We travelled to Mr Rohe’s farm and spoke with his wife, who told us “We as almost never see him! He’s constantly on the road. He pops by to see the kids and check on the farm every week or so”. It seems as though it’s difficult to pay close attention to your family when you’re so busy drawing attention to yourself in the streets.
Mr Rohe’s fans seem to admire him deeply, but such adoration can turn nasty. His most extreme supporters have abused, harassed and on one occasion physically assaulted Mr Rohe’s critics. “His fans are relentless”, says well-known critic Johnathon Adams. “The harass me day and night and have even threatened to attack me.
While Mr Rohe does not endorse such violent behaviour, he does not exactly deter it either. He describes the King as “evil” and “corrupt” and once stated that “sometimes the power of the fist is necessary”.
Mr Rohe’s rhetoric seems to attract all kinds of unsavory characters; the aforementioned “Jack the Terrorist” as well as well-known woman beater Joseph Smith have both stated their support for Mr Rohe.
In the end, the key to Mr Rohe’s appeal is also his greatest weakness. He wants to be the man who knows everything and can explain everything. But his arguments are riddled with conspiracy theories and crude distortions of the truth.
Even so, his critics will have a tough time. Mr Rohe’s wave of popularity is unlikely to come crashing down any time soon.
PART 4
A year had passed, and over the months the third advisor wrote countless similar articles and published them in the 3 main newspapers.
To his and the King’s delight, their plan had worked flawlessly.
Support for Mr Rohe began to wane. Many began to accuse Mr Rohe as being a racist. Others claimed he was mistreating his wife. Most began to be see Mr Rohe as somebody not to be taken seriously.
The people started feeling a sense of distrust and dislike towards Mr Rohe deep in their stomachs. They didn’t know exactly why they felt this way, but felt it they did.
Something had switched inside their minds. They began to see everything Mr Rohe did through a negative lens. His previously heroic speeches now seemed shrill and childish. His impressive physique and sharp jaw now seemed vain and self-centred. And his claims about The King and what was really inside his palace made of solid gold now had doubt cast upon them. Some still believed Mr Rohe, some thought him to be exaggerating, most simply threw their hands up in confusion and forgot all about it.
When Mr Rohe made a speech on the streets, many rolled their eyes at his crazy supporters. And with growing frequency, an opposing group of protesters would appear and shout over him. They made claims that Mr Rohe was a racist, and they made jokes about the 2 farms Mr Rohe owned.
The King’s problem had been solved.
The third advisor became one of the King’s closest confidantes and was allowed access to many of the luxuries inside the palace: food, women and anything else he could possibly dream of.
As for the people, their lives steadily got worse and worse. Their food supplies dwindled, medicine became rare to find and the people became sadder, more depressed and more desperate. Despite this, most accepted their situation as “the way life is”, while others blamed God for their misfortune.
One day, another man began to make speeches on the streets against the King. His name: Varios. The People began to call him their “Savior”.
The King passed his pen over to the third advisor. “Ready?”
The third advisor grew a wicked grin.
“Of course”
