Chaos erupted.
The wise men of the Squeakish empire were on the verge of discovering a new philosophy that would soon become Theology. As they sat around furrowing their brows over a complicated problem that they would have to solve before the theory of Theology could come into practice. All their genius minds were thinking of thousands of possible ways to solve this problem, testing them, and disposing of those that would not work.
All of a sudden, one man jumped up and screamed Eureka-ishly, "I've done it!" He ran over to a large rolled out scroll and began to scribble frantically.
"He's found the solution!" said one man with a very long white beard.
"Not exactly, but look!" He drew a circle with a series of ovals circling it. "It's an atom, don't you see! I declare that this is what all of everything is made of! This room, the stone, the air, even you and I!"
"Preposterous!" bellowed one man with a wrinkly bald forehead.
"Not exactly, he may be on to something!"
Another, named Newton, suddenly jumped up and screamed with his eyes lighting up with sudden knowledge. "That's it! I've figured out the theory of gravity!" He ran to another scroll and started writing physics equations frantically.
A man bolted up and shot open the window. "I have discovered the secrets of Advanced Flight!" He promptly jumped out the window with arms spread and smashed on the pavement below, an insane grin stamped on his face reflecting the decay of his sanity.
"He should have listened to my theory on gravity." said Newton thoughtfully.
Cries of insane happiness and enlightenment showered the air like the pieces of paper containing sketches of prototypes and equations that the wise men were throwing at each other.
"The world is round!"
"The Sun is the center of the solar system!"
"Animals evolved through Natural Selection!"
"Your mother's a chicken!"
Strangely enough, Theology remained undiscovered as the 23 members of the Squeakish technology council simultaneously discovered 22 (minus Advanced Flight) completely random advancements.
The small city of Los Angeles, a former American city, smashed by the ruins of a long, destructive and expensive war between the Squeakies and the American Monarchy, was steadily building its ruined community back together. Peasants in many states of shabbiness were hauling stones from the wreckage of buildings. Their dirt-stained faces mingled with the sweat as they dragged cumbersome objects to an open field where the granary was to be built. They were simply the means of getting raw materials, their skills of wine trading and artisanship no longer needed for a city whose sole goal was not empire building, but survival. Once, Los Angeles had been a large, profitable town with golden roads and streaming fountains, even housing a wonder of the world; the Hanging Gardens of Los Angeles! Travelers from afar would come to see this marvelous symbolism of the might of the American Monarchy and their King, Abraham Lincoln. Now it was reduced to and covered in rubble.
A mother and child, their houses destroyed in the war, were struggling to drag a heavy stone to the site of the granary. They were hardly getting enough money to survive from hauling stones, but it was their only choice. They came to bring their stone to the building site, when suddenly they noticed no one was moving. Everyone was staring at the empty field. The empty field in which stood a state-of-the art granary.
It was impossible! The granary hadn't even begun construction. They were still trying to get enough stone to build a foundation, and yet, there it stood; made from the finest varnished wood and white marble. The people stood flabbergasted. How could this possibly be? Even if the government had ordered that the granary be made quickly and given enough money to the cause it would have taken a year or so, which was relatively quick considering the ten years they were expecting. A year! Even in a year they could not have hauled enough marble and wood, and hired all the artists to perfect the interior. It would have taken four years with a million people working 24 hours a day! But for it to appear overnight? It was impossible. Simply impossible.
The crowds dispersed eventually, later that night. Some thoughtfully contemplating what they had seen, and some walking silently with unanswerable questions leaking through their heads. Others ran around shouting praises to the gods and bringing everyone outside that they might lift their voices in hymns of thanks. As more and more people gathered at the town square, a young boy came running in shouting at the top of his lungs.
"Come see, come see! It's too marvelous to behold, come see!" He ran off, a host of followers in his wake.
The boy stopped at a hill overlooking the place where the Hanging Gardens once stood. And there they stood.
"It's a miracle!" cried the townsfolk "The gods have given us back the Hanging Gardens!"
"Los Angeles has risen again!" "Hallelujah!"
All through the night, the air was filled with the light of festivity and life. The mysterious granary was found full of food and wine, and the starving townsfolk now found that they had more than enough food for all. People were constantly running to and from the town square with news of a new building that they had suddenly discovered. A marketplace, library, aqueduct and all sorts of improvements that had been buried for years had appeared again, as if by magic.
Or by cheating.
The wise men of the Squeakish empire were on the verge of discovering a new philosophy that would soon become Theology. As they sat around furrowing their brows over a complicated problem that they would have to solve before the theory of Theology could come into practice. All their genius minds were thinking of thousands of possible ways to solve this problem, testing them, and disposing of those that would not work.
All of a sudden, one man jumped up and screamed Eureka-ishly, "I've done it!" He ran over to a large rolled out scroll and began to scribble frantically.
"He's found the solution!" said one man with a very long white beard.
"Not exactly, but look!" He drew a circle with a series of ovals circling it. "It's an atom, don't you see! I declare that this is what all of everything is made of! This room, the stone, the air, even you and I!"
"Preposterous!" bellowed one man with a wrinkly bald forehead.
"Not exactly, he may be on to something!"
Another, named Newton, suddenly jumped up and screamed with his eyes lighting up with sudden knowledge. "That's it! I've figured out the theory of gravity!" He ran to another scroll and started writing physics equations frantically.
A man bolted up and shot open the window. "I have discovered the secrets of Advanced Flight!" He promptly jumped out the window with arms spread and smashed on the pavement below, an insane grin stamped on his face reflecting the decay of his sanity.
"He should have listened to my theory on gravity." said Newton thoughtfully.
Cries of insane happiness and enlightenment showered the air like the pieces of paper containing sketches of prototypes and equations that the wise men were throwing at each other.
"The world is round!"
"The Sun is the center of the solar system!"
"Animals evolved through Natural Selection!"
"Your mother's a chicken!"
Strangely enough, Theology remained undiscovered as the 23 members of the Squeakish technology council simultaneously discovered 22 (minus Advanced Flight) completely random advancements.
The small city of Los Angeles, a former American city, smashed by the ruins of a long, destructive and expensive war between the Squeakies and the American Monarchy, was steadily building its ruined community back together. Peasants in many states of shabbiness were hauling stones from the wreckage of buildings. Their dirt-stained faces mingled with the sweat as they dragged cumbersome objects to an open field where the granary was to be built. They were simply the means of getting raw materials, their skills of wine trading and artisanship no longer needed for a city whose sole goal was not empire building, but survival. Once, Los Angeles had been a large, profitable town with golden roads and streaming fountains, even housing a wonder of the world; the Hanging Gardens of Los Angeles! Travelers from afar would come to see this marvelous symbolism of the might of the American Monarchy and their King, Abraham Lincoln. Now it was reduced to and covered in rubble.
A mother and child, their houses destroyed in the war, were struggling to drag a heavy stone to the site of the granary. They were hardly getting enough money to survive from hauling stones, but it was their only choice. They came to bring their stone to the building site, when suddenly they noticed no one was moving. Everyone was staring at the empty field. The empty field in which stood a state-of-the art granary.
It was impossible! The granary hadn't even begun construction. They were still trying to get enough stone to build a foundation, and yet, there it stood; made from the finest varnished wood and white marble. The people stood flabbergasted. How could this possibly be? Even if the government had ordered that the granary be made quickly and given enough money to the cause it would have taken a year or so, which was relatively quick considering the ten years they were expecting. A year! Even in a year they could not have hauled enough marble and wood, and hired all the artists to perfect the interior. It would have taken four years with a million people working 24 hours a day! But for it to appear overnight? It was impossible. Simply impossible.
The crowds dispersed eventually, later that night. Some thoughtfully contemplating what they had seen, and some walking silently with unanswerable questions leaking through their heads. Others ran around shouting praises to the gods and bringing everyone outside that they might lift their voices in hymns of thanks. As more and more people gathered at the town square, a young boy came running in shouting at the top of his lungs.
"Come see, come see! It's too marvelous to behold, come see!" He ran off, a host of followers in his wake.
The boy stopped at a hill overlooking the place where the Hanging Gardens once stood. And there they stood.
"It's a miracle!" cried the townsfolk "The gods have given us back the Hanging Gardens!"
"Los Angeles has risen again!" "Hallelujah!"
All through the night, the air was filled with the light of festivity and life. The mysterious granary was found full of food and wine, and the starving townsfolk now found that they had more than enough food for all. People were constantly running to and from the town square with news of a new building that they had suddenly discovered. A marketplace, library, aqueduct and all sorts of improvements that had been buried for years had appeared again, as if by magic.
Or by cheating.