Disclaimer: Despite pleading, begging, bribing, threatening, whining and throwing tantrums, I do not, alas, own Gundam Wing or any of it's characters. Whoever they do belong to, are probably very rich and most likely in Japan (I think Sunrise, Sostsu, and Bandai...prolly some others too). I am poor. I spent all my money on anime. Please don't sue!



The Education of Ezra Maxwell:

A Side Story

Lesson One

Geography/History - Part I


Duo Maxwell lead his son into the living room by the shoulder and stood him in front of the stereo. He inserted a disk and left the player on standby.

"And now Son, your first geography/history lesson: The countries of the world as of AD 1993." Duo tapped the play button and a voice came through the speakers:

And now, the nations of the world! Brought to you by: Yakko Warner!

"Daddy, who is that?"

"Just listen, Ezra."

United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Haiti, Jamaica, Peru; Republic Dominican, Cuba, Caribbean, Greenland, El Salvador, too.

Puerto Rico, Colombia, Venezuela, Honduras, Guyana, and still; Guatemala, Bolivia, then Argentina, and Ecuador, Chile, Brazil.

Costa Rica, Belize, Nicaragua, Bermuda, Bahamas, Tobago, San Juan; Paraguay, Uruguay, Suriname and French Guiana, Barbados and Guam.

"Daddy, where are all these places?"

"Um well ... they were all over the Earth."

"But where are they now?"

"Well, you see ... you know how your Aunt Relena always says that borders are the cause of wars? Well she kinda ... blurred the lines dividing these countries when she abolished all borders in 195."

Norway and Sweden and Iceland and Finland, and Germany, now one piece; Switzerland, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Italy, Turkey, and Greece.

Poland, Romania, Scotland, Albania, Ireland, Russia, Oman; Bulgaria, Saudi Arabia, Hungary, Cyprus, Iraq, and Iran.

There's Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, both Yemens, Kuwait, and Bahrain; The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, and Portugal, France, England, Denmark, and Spain.

Hilde walked past the living room, eyeing some bills. She then walked backwards past the living room again and watched her husband and son, standing in front of their stereo. She paused and listened to the song playing and voiced over the music, "You know, I've only heard three places so far that still exist!" She then shook her head and walked back out to the scrapyard office.

India, Pakistan, Burma, Afghanistan, Thailand, Nepal, and Bhutan; Kampuchea, Malaysia, then Bangladesh, Asia, and China, Korea, Japan.

Mongolia, Laos, and Tibet, Indonesia, the Philippine islands, Taiwan; Sri Lanka, New Guinea, Sumatra, New Zealand, then Borneo and Vietnam.

Tunisia, Morocco, Uganda, Angola, Zimbabwe, Djibouti, Botswana; Mozambique, Zambia, Swaziland, Gambia, Guinea, Algeria, Ghana.

Burundi, Lesotho, and Malawi, Togo, the Spanish Sahara is gone; Niger, Nigeria, Chad and Liberia, Egypt, Benin, and Gabon.

Tanzania, Somalia, Kenya, and Mali, Sierra Leone and Algier; Dahomey, Namibia, Senegal, Libya, Cameroon, Congo, Zaire.

Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Rwanda, Mahore, and Cayman; Hong Kong, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Yugoslavia.

Crete, Mauritania, then Transylvania, Monaco, Liechtenstein, Malta and Palestine, Fiji, Australia, Sudan!

The song ended and Duo removed the disk and handed it to his son. Ezra looked at it, puzzled and then Duo said, "Practice it. I want to hear you sing it tomorrow. Same time, same place." Ezra sighed melodramatically and sulked up the stairs to his room. Duo watched him go, apparently quite pleased with himself, and then followed Hilde out to the scrapyard office.