The Scarlet Aura of the Archpartorg
Алая аура протопарторга
by Евгений Лукин
Some may say the book is Fantasy Proper. Might well be: there`s a menace, a flight, a dangerous journey, a victorious return, there are wizards and warlocks and sprites and brownies and whatnot. Miracles, too. Only there is too much blunt reality in it for it to be pure fantasy. The miracles do not change the surrounding reality, they do not even warp reality; if anything, miracles make it more tangible…
Then again, some may call the book a satirical pamphlet, the politically-mystical kind. It might be that, too, only, for a pamphlet, the work is too well-written.
I`d call the book an instruction manual for beginner politicians and a memo for credulous voters. Of course, I may be wrong. Anyway, it is too multiplex to be just that.
It`s about combining things. Let`s speculate upon what would a fusion of two overly greedy religions, Christianity and Communism (the Stalinist type) look like? Or what would combining loftily indifferent Sorcery and fondly relentless Democracy result in? Yup, what you get should be enough to either drive you crazy or strike you dumb. Oh well, grassroots will get used to anything, and will even grow to love whatever shit they are being fed...
It`s also about friends and enemies. If you are a person, or, for that matter, a critter, you might of might not need a friend, or, depending, an enemy. But if you are a State, you absolutely need an Enemy. Friends are not all that important; having enemies is vital. See, if you are a State lacking a fiendish enemy, getting humanitarian aid or financial support or military assistance from your allies becomes problematic… Therefore your Enemy must be cherished.
It`s about believing, as well. If multitudes believe you are powerful, then you are. Once the belief is gone, you are a goner too.
Another curious thing about the book is the absence of Good Guys. Bad Guys only. Not really evil (some of them are rather likable), still by no means good. Well, that`s a separate topic, I`m afraid…
So, there`s this little refugee, an evicted brownie, trying to cross the bridge spanning the river between two states (formerly provinces). Fat chance! The frontier guards could perhaps be tricked and coped with, but not the powerful spells cast over the bridge by both sides. The poor critter can neither flee nor return. In desperation, it hides under a stump, only to be found by one of them that Purge the World of Evil Spirits. But instead of liquidating the brownie, the Archpartorg picks it up and carries it across the river, walking upon the water. And so the Journey starts…
I do believe this book should be translated into as many languages as possible, if only because, politically, it is universal. But I`m afraid translating that might prove to be a helluva of a job. Terms, darn terms! Well, “Партиарх” (“Partyarch”) is easy; “Протопарторг” is more difficult, still manageable, some effort exerted yielded the “Archpartorg”, a term I hope English-speaking readers should find more or less clear; but what does one do about “комсобогомолец” and such?
The pity of it…
© Dodo