The Nation is Now in Good Hands
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2nd of August
Prague's Castle"Comrade President, Leader of the People, comrade Minister of Health and comrade Minister of Culture have arrived." announced the president's secretary.
President Reiserová has lifted her head from the mirror she was staring in and told her secretary to tell the guests to wait for a couple of minutes. Right now she was busy removing her make-up, the sun was about to set and she wanted to record a video for the Reiserová's Moments program, without make-up but with the setting sun shining on her and deliver a short speech about the beauty of nature and the importance in aspiring to make another person happy. Her secretary has left the room and Reiserová could return to her task. After she was done, she quickly glanced over a picture with her sons in the mountains of Ruthund and over the Czech and Red banners flying outside her window and called her secretary to invite her guests in.
"Comrade President." greeted the Minister of Health, Zuzana Saková, who used to be a member of the Social Democratic Patty before joining the Socialist Republicans during the Government crisis.
"Comrades ministers." responded the President "Can you show me the documents Zuzana? Karel, here, tell me if it is good." the President continued addressing both of her guests and taking a few papers from Saková while handing over a small paper with a speech she has prepared for the video.
"This is horrible, really horrible, are we sure these data are correct?" asked Reiserová frowning while looking at the documents.
"Yes comrade President we can sadly be 100% sure about that."
"Hmmm." Reiserová sighted while putting down the documents after which she has turned at Karel Šín with a smile "So? What do you think?"
"Phenomenal! Absolutely phenomenal. I think you have written it perfectly, and that it will really resonate with the viewers." responded nodding and smiling Šín who didn't even read her short speech as he was not feeling like reading at that moment and knew his answer would have to be same regardless.
"And they said appointing you is not a good idea!" said the satisfied Reiserová taking her paper back and admiring her own work for a brief moment.
Half an hour later
A small group of five high ranking party officials were heading through the halls of the Prague's Castle to a meeting with President Reiserová. The most notable of the group was Miloslava Benešová, one of the first high ranking party members who during the search for a candidate of the SRP for president backed Albína Reiserová and Reiserová has in turn left delegated much of the rights and duties of the Leader of the Party up to her, once she was nominated. Furthermore Benešová was elected as the Speaker of the Parliament after Radek Šedivý. For Benešová this position was comfortable, she was away from the spotlight and was hardly ever disturbed at her work. The meeting with the President was not supposed to be short, Benešová just needed to get her signature on the list of candidates.
"Comrade President, we follow in your step as you guide us from victory into victory, without your light we would be lost in the dark!" greeted Benešová and after that she has greeted the two present ministers as well. She wasn't sure why they were standing behind the President, but it seemed that Reiserová dragged Šín along everywhere she went, despite his unpopularity with the party leadership. "I bring you here our lists of candidates in all regions, if you could just sign them." Benešová finished and put the papers on the President's desk.
"No." Reiserová said simply, crossing both of her hands on the papers.
"E...Exuse me comrade President?" let out the shocked Benešová.
"I said no, comrade Speaker. I won't sign those papers. Why weren't they discussed with me? I've never seen them."
"C... comrade President I assumed you would be in an agreement with the lists. But if you...."
"And what can you tell me about this Comrade Speaker? Did you know this?" Reiserová didn't wait for Benešová's response and showed her the documents she has received from Saková. They were reports about obesity in children and unhealthy eating habits and lifestyle. All of them started increasing noticeably after Czech Slavia liberalized its markets.
"That is of course terrible comrade... comrade Presidnet, I was aware of the fact but I haven'ť seen any official numbers until now."
"You are right, it is horrible." Reiserová went silent for a moment looking at all of the papers lying at her table. "I want to introduce new health standards for our food. I want all the junk food and drinks with overtly high rates of sugar gone from restaurants and stores operating here.... moreover I want new restrictions to ban all media promoting unhealthy lifestyle and food removed from our cinemas."
"But comrade, what about our trading partners? Our relations and trust with them could be heavily damaged if we introduce such restrictions." Benešová tryied to oppose the President, but the President didn't react to her protests.
"Furthermore I request that from now on I am officialy granted the right to issue decrees for the Socialist Republican Party and I request the same right for all matters of the Government allowing for a quick and effective governance." Reiserová continued her demands.
The office went silent, everybody, except for Karel Šín who continued eating his toast with cheese and ham, was shocked by the words of the President. Finally Benešová was able to once again speak: "You demand the right to decide, unchallenged, about all the matters regarding the Party and the Government?"
Šín, who now understood what a decree meant, began choking on his toast. As all attention was turned to him he gave a thumbs up and endorsed the idea as "simply genius".
After the Minister of Culture managed to catch his breath Benešová continued. "Comrade President you demand that you are granted the right to effectively rule by decree over the country? What about our discussions and processes in the Party?" While Reiserová would not have the right to rule by decree directly, she could issue a decree ordering the Representatives in the Parliament from the SRP to vote in a certain manner, without any discussion.
"Well comrade Speaker, didn't you say moments ago that I am the light without which you'd be lost in the dark?"
"Yes, yes, of course, but... you demand this because of the rising rates of obesity in children?!"
"Comrade Speaker, do you think I am stupid? Do you think you can just walk around me, using me only to sign your decision? I was excluded from almost every discussion in the Party, not even these lists of candidates were discussed with me. But I won't just be smiling and waving at the cameras while you focus on your discussions and lead our nation towards a catastrophy. I am not anybody's toy. I am the Leader of the Republican Socialist Party elected by the members of the Party and the President of the Democratic Republic of Czech Slavia elected by the people, there won't be any more walking around me for the future of our entire nation lies on my shoulders. Have I made myself clear?"
Benešová couldn't believe she wasn't dreaming. She and others in the high ranking positions of the Party told Reiserová about her supposed greatness to make her trust them fully. And now Reiserová was fully convinced of her greatness. She no longer thought anybody else was capable of running the country without her oversight.
"If you disagree with me, you can challenge my position as the Leader of the Party comrade Benešová, you have that right." Reiserová finished.
"No. Of course not, Paramount Leader, I agree with everything." Benešová announced defeated, she knew that since all the focus in the country was always on Reiserová the ordinary SRP member liked her much more than Benešová and the same applied to the voters of the SRP.
"Good," Reiserová smiled as she crossed out Benešová of the list of candidates entirely. "everybody has their role in the revolution, which they must adhere to. Comrade Smetana will you be able to impliment what we have all agreed to now?"
"Yes, comrade President." responded Antonín Smetana, another high ranking party official who entered the office together with Benešová.
"Good, the people are counting on you." And after the President has said those word she has signed the lists of candidates and then there was silence.
"Glory to the Mother of the Nation!" the silence was broken by the shout of Saková, who couldn't help but smile a little, she suspected correctly how the President would react to the documents showing the rising rate of obesity in children and now she hoped to strengthen her position. Other people in the room joined her in chanting in support of the President and not long afterwords they began singing the "Red Flag" as Reiserová relaxed in her seat, joined them in their singing and after that quickly left to make her video. The sun was in a perfect position for it.
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2nd of November
Prague's Castle"Hello, can you see, me can you hear me? Nice to see you comrade Smetana, comrade Dvořáková,... oh and comrade Šín,... you will take part in the meeting as well? Is comrade President present? I can't see her."
A voice of Slavomíra Černá sounded from a computer screen into a room where the Speaker of the National Assembly Antonín Smetana, Minister of the Interior Bohumila Dvořáková and the Minister of Culture Karel Šín were sitting, with Smetana just few inches away from the computer screen, so that he's able to read what is written on it.
"Yes comrade Černá, hello, we can see and hear you and we are glad to see you too! The Paramount Leader is not yet here with us. Comrade Saková informed me that comrade President has some important work to attend to with her at the moment, so she will arrive later. Comrade Šín will act as her representative until then. Now I believe you all know why I called for a meeting. Inquista Today reports that the Inquistan Archbishop is engaged to a citizen of our Democratic Republic. This..." Smetana's speech was interrupted by Karel Šín.
"Comrade Speaker, may I please read the story?" Smetana handed a copy of the Inquista Today to Šín who thanked him and quickly looked through the article "Not a bad looking guy this comrade Krejčí, almost like a younger me. And he is miner, if the Kligenbergs come and request the Lišov Mine as a wedding gift President Reiserová can tell them: "You can't have that, that's mine"" Šín smiled victoriously after delivering his joke.
"Yes comrade Šín, thank you for your contribution. Anyways, as I was saying this of course raises two question. First who is this comrade Krejčí, and second how can we use the fact that they are engaged. Would it be possible to recruit comrade Krejčí into the secret police to have better information from Inquista and to be able to develop stronger pressure on the country elites? Comrade Dvořáková?"
Dvořáková nodded after being asked to speak and started her speech:"I believe that we can learn more information about comrade Krejčí in his work place, including his residence which can be searched for even more information, from this point we can determine if it is possible to recruit this individual into our information services. From then the new agent would also need to be monitored by other agents to prevent deflection, this might prove to be a difficult operation. However having an agent in such a position could indeed be very beneficial for the Democratic Republic."
"Excuse me comrades," a voice of Černá was once again heard from the computer screen "but recruiting the partner of the Archbishop into the secret police might also be incredibly damaging for our relations if this is discovered by the Inquistans. Archbishop Kligenberg is firmly on a side of friendly relations between our countries, risking her trust seems to me as too high of a potential price to pay for the benefits of recruiting comrade Krejčí."
Suddenly door to the room opened and in them was standing the Minister of Health Zuzana Saková holding a cup of coffee. "Comrade President is here." she said smiling despite her eyes appearing troubled. She walked over to the table where the others were seated and placed the cup in a place reserved for President Reiserová. All of the present party and government representatives stood up, including Slavomíra Černá who was present on the meeting only through the computer, and as soon as the President entered the room they chanted "Long live President Reiserová" Reiserová greeted all the people present and after they all sit down, she sipped coffee from her cup and asked why was the meeting called. She appeared very tired.
"Great Leader, the Inquista Today reported that the Archbishop Kligenberg is engaged to a Czech miner from the Lišov Mine by the name Tomáš Krejčí, and..." Smetana was once again interrupted this time by Reiserová
"Well that's just incredibly romantic and adorable," Reiserová's eyes lit up with excitement "that's really like from a movie, a Head of State comes on a foreign visit and falls in love with a local miner, right?" the mind of President was filled with joy as she realized that it was her who invited Mikaela Kligenberg into the Lišov Mine.
"Yes, comrade President, we were just wondering if we can learn more about comrade Krejčí, comrade Dvořáková suggested learning about his identity at the Lišov Mine, and if we can recruit him into the secret police, which would give us provide us with numerous possibilities to influence the The Most Blessed State of Inquista and provide us with more information from the country. However comrade Černá considers the risk from discovering this possible agent in Inqusta too high and the operation would be in any case difficult as the activities of the agenty would have to be carefully monitored." Smetana informed Reiserová.
"I agree with comrade Černá," Reiserová responded smiling "I won't allow recruitment of any partners of Mikaela Kligenberg into the secret services. The Archbishop yet again proved the great strength of character and sincerity by becoming engaged with an ordinary Czech citizen because she loves him. This demonstrates beyond shadow of a doubt that she is a trustworthy person and a true friend of the Democratic Republic and friends don't spy on each other, they trust each other and I trust Mikaela Kligenberg, she wouldn't betray us under any circumstances. I think many comrades could learn from her." with that Reiserová closed the desks placed before her indicating that the discussion is finished.
"Most brilliantly said comrade President, once again you have shown us the correct way, the issue is thus settled. Long live the Socialist Republican Party!" proclaimed Smetana as Reiserová has once again stood up and walked towards the door.
"Oh, just perhaps make sure if comrade Krejčí is dedicated to revolution. I'll send my congratulations to the Archbishop." Reiserová turned to the room once more before leaving it with these words.
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28th of March
Prague Catle"Come in!" heard Zuzana Saková, the Minister of Health, after she knocked on the doors of the private rooms of the President for Life. After she has opened the door she could immediately see the that the President was in a middle of her morning exercise with her back tuned toward the ambitious Minister. "I'll be with you in just a second!"
"Of course Albína, I'll wait, but the meeting should start in few minutes... I brought you some black tea. Without any sugar or honey." greeted her Saková.
After about a minute Reiserová stopped exercising and walked towards the minister to get her tea, "Thanks. I'll just get dressed and I am ready to go." she said with a smile and then took a long sip of the hot beverage before disappearing from Saková's view, into another room to change her clothes into a more formal dress. It was time for another meeting of the Government, and while Reiserová didn't enjoy these meetings, she was in a very good mood today and was determined to keep the meeting as short as possible, after all she promised her kids a trip outside of the city today.
"You look great today! I'm really glad that you managed to get over your troubles with sleeping." Saková was the only member of the Government that knew about the President's health problems related to over-working and stress, due to the fact that, along Minister Šín, Saková had the closest relations with the President out of the members of the Government. But the President's troubles with sleeping improved greatly after her vacation with the Inquistan Head of State and subsequent vacation with her parents and her sons.
"Aw, thank you! You know I have to try to look great now, I had a very important meeting with a handsome new diplomat from Inquista, that was appointed directly on the wish of Archbishop Kligenberg! And it is not unlikely that we will have to have another meeting tonight!" responded Reiserová from the other room. The Embassy of the Most Blessed State of Inquista begun rapidly increasing in the number of stuff after Mikaela Kligenberg has made matchmaking for the President her personal mission.
"Ah, well what did you talk about?"
"Let me instead tell you what we didn't talk about. We definitely didn't talk about diplomacy or politics. But, you know, it was really nice anyways." Reiserová laughed before emerging from the room in her formal dress and holding her documents. "Oh, and you look great too, but you always do! Before we go, who did you say is beside you responsible for my documents for the Government meetings? It's comrade Mejzlík right? You do a marvelous job."
"Thank you! And yes, comrade Mejzlík is co-responsible for the documents." Saková's eyes landed on an open book on the President's table, "What book are you reading?"
"You mean this? It's from comrade Weisser, about socialist economy. It isn't something I'd normally read, you know, but he insisted it is really important, so I need to finish it." The President shrugged her shoulders before smiling, "Well, I'm ready, lead the way." and the two women made their way from the President's private rooms to the Prague Castle's conference hall.
"Alright comrades, time to get productive!" Reiserová announced, clapping her hands, as soon as a guard opened the doors of the conference hall for her and Saková. All the ministers who were not in their seats quickly walked over to them and Karel Šín pulled the chair for the President.
However, the President for Life didn't make her way to her seat immediately and instead she walked over to the seat of the Minister of Regional Development, Lubomír Mejzlík. "Hey, I just wanted to thank you for you assistance with my documents, and you know, your contribution to the revolution. I really like how my documents are organized now." she said with a wide smile and put her hand on his shoulder.
"I.. I'm honored comrade President. It's a great honor for me to have the opportunity to contribute in this way and your hard work serves as an inspiration for me." he replied , looking Reiserová in the eyes. Mejzlík was the youngest member of Reiserová's Government and while he was relatively close to Minister Saková, he wasn't previously a member of the Social Democratic Party. Before joining the Socialist Republican Party Mejzlík made a name for himself for criticizing the planned reforms of Michal Plachta as an activist who saw joining the Socialist Republican Party as a chance to have an effect on politics. Like Reiserová he was thus a newcomer, something that was regarded very positively by her.
While Reiserová was talking with the youngest Minister she was approached by the oldest one, the Minister of Education František Weisser. "Great Leader, I hope the books I have provided you with served as a source of important and interesting information and outlooks?" he said with a spark in his eyes. When Reiserová gave him an affirmative answer to be polite he smiled and quickly continued "Oh that is just wonderful to hear. I have brought you some more texts,.... if you are interested." he started pulling out more books which really showed the sign of age.
"Later comrade, we have to start the meeting." Reiserová responded politely, and Weisser just nodded few times with smile still on his face. Weisser was a longtime member of the Socialist Republican Party and it's predecessor. Yet he was not one of the members of the party establishment, and was always regarded as a critic of the party leadership from left positions. When the question of nomination of presidential candidate in the winter of 2020 arose he placed his support behind Reiserová, as he believed that only an outsider could truly reform the party. After she has won he was invited by her to the Government, but only after he performed an extensive self-criticism for underestimating the role of the parenthood in the previous years, although he in general moderated many of his previous stances as he got older.
Finally, Reiserová seated herself in her chair and started the meeting. All minister were physically present, with the exception of the Minister of Industry and Trade Květoslav Musil, who was present over video, as he was on negotiations in the Federal Republic of Yosai. The Minister of Defense Viktor Hladík received the word first
"Comrades, as we all know the ENAA granted the Democratic Republic licence to produce up to 200 nuclear warheads. I would like to propose to the President for Life the start of the Project Morana to develop a nuclear weapon. Project Morana also involves asking scientist from Icholasen and Inquista for their assistance in our nuclear weapons development." after finishing he passed a paper to the President, who signed it without hesitation. For Hladík his excitement for nuclear weapons development program balanced his dissatisfaction with the abolishment of military ranks, which was done by Reiserová when she concluded it is the right thing to do after reading some of the books Weisser provided her with.
"Project Morana will put quite the burden on the budget." remarked the Minister of Finance and the first Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Heřman Švestka. "Especially with the ongoing projects in Prague and Rudolfov."
"Comrade Švestka is correct, which is why we both propose that the Democratic Republic requests a subsidy from the European Development Agency for the completion of the Vocational Secondary School of Mikaela Kligenberg. If this subsidy is not provided we will either have to take a loan or put either the project in Rudolfov or Prague on hold." added Mejzlík.
"Very well, let's vote. Who is for asking the European Development Agency for a subsidy for the completion of the Vocational Secondary School of Mikaela Kligenberg? Everybody. The proposition has been unanimously accepted." said Reiserová "Does anybody else have something important to say?"
After few seconds of silence Zuzana Saková kicked Lubomír Mejzlík under the table. "Ah, yes, comrade President I thing it would be appropriate to consider requesting comrade Smetana to step down from his position of a Speaker of the National Assembly as comrade Smetana's health has been deteriorating in the last days." Smetana has been ill for almost two weeks, but Mejzlík only suggested considering his removal from his position because Saková had the ambition to be elected in Smetana's place and Mejzlík realized that allying himself with Saková, who had friendly relations with the President, could be beneficial for him.
"Alright, I'll consider it, anybody else has something important to say?" Reiserová moved on immediately.
"Well,... I think we could discuss comrade Mejzlík's suggestion now." Saková tried to protest.
"Zuzana, I said I'll consider it." Resierová responded firmly. While the President didn't have exactly positive relations with Smetana, she wanted to avoid any discussions and leave the meeting to go to her kids as soon as possible.
"I propose that the Government proposes the legalization of pornography. to the National Assembly" spoke Šín for the first time.
"Of course you do." Laughed Reiserová "Alright, who is for? One. Who is against? Fourteen. Nobody abstained or didn't vote, proposition has failed." Šín proposed this at every Government meeting and every time the result has been exactly the same. He responded only by shrugging his shoulders.
"Anyone else has anything to say?" Reiserová again asked and the Minister of Agriculture Pavel Dohnal raised his hand. "Is it important?" she sighed and he nodded, "I mean, you know, is it so important that it requires my presence? Will you propose something?" she asked and he shook his head. "Good! Well this has been productive! Thank you all, comrade Švestka, you can continue the meeting without me and you can all continue discussing." she concluded with a smile and quickly rose up to her feet. Without her present the Government could not adopt any position anyways. She turned around and walked away from the conference hall, thinking about the trip with her kids and the potential dinner with the new Inquistan diplomat.
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20th of April
Prague CastleLubomír Mejzlík soon started to regret suggesting the removal of Antonín Smetana from his position.Attention of all those interested in the position of the Speaker of the National Assembly were now directed towards him. He held meetings with Saková frequently, but now Švestka and Čikarová also requested meetings with him, unaware of the fact that he suggested Smetana's removal only so that Saková wouldn't have to do that directly and now he was forced to pretend that he is neutral about who should replace Smetana in these meetings in order to cover Saková's ambitions. He was now tired of this facade but he knew too well that his own success depends on Saková and so he had to continue. Except today he wasn't meeting neither Švestka nor Čikarová requested a meeting with him, instead the President for Life herself called a meeting with him.
After knocking on the door of the President's office he heard her voice inviting him in and opened the door.
"Please sit down." said Reiserová closing a novel she was reading. To her right was another, thicker, book about economy, another gift from the Minister of Education Weisser, and to her left was half empty glass of red wine. "You were right Lubomír, we should suggest retirement to comrade Smetana." she said after Mejzlík has sat down. "But, you know, there is now a question of who should replace him. I know Zuzana is interested in becoming the Speaker and I am certain of her qualities, you know she is hard working, she is initiative, she is also a mother..." Reiserová omitted that for her the most important argument is that Saková is her friend.
"She certainly is comrade President." Mejzlík affirmed her words, nodding.
"Right. But comrade Švestka is currently the first Deputy Speaker he should be next in line and he is also interested in the position you know. And I have heard that he has always served the Party faithfully and quietly fullfilled all of his duties. And unlike Smetana he never withheld any information from me." she practically mumbled the last part. While Smetana did try to make up for this incident, for which the previous Speaker, Miloslava Benešová, was removed entirely from the list of candidates for the last election, his part in it was not forgotten and was part of the reason, aside from his now frequent ilnesses, why Reiserová agreed with removing him from the position. "I mean what message would not endorsing him send to the Party members? That we don't value their lifelong work and loyalty?" Reiserová continued. Mejzlík remained silent now only nodding his head as the President continued with her speech almost instantly.
"And Sofie,... well while she can't be elected the Speaker during this term of the National Assembly, she is definitely interested in becoming the Speaker after the next election. And she has done much for the Party, she won over many of the current foreign friends of our state, she is well known across Europe, you know it makes sense to support her in the next election. You know I am looking for a solution to satisfy all of them." she finished and looked Mejzlík directly in the eyes. "Since you suggested to suggest retirement to Smetana I want to hear your opinion.... but keep it short comrade!" she raised her finger to make it clear that she is not interested in discussions but in going to her private rooms as soon as possible.
For Mejzlík, Reiserová's words presented opportunity, "I completely agree with your insightful words Great Leader." for a short moment, Reiserová smiled after hearing these words before returning to a more neutral expression, "I have also thought of this and I suggest the following: support comrade Švestka for the position of the Speaker, but inform him that he will only remain in this position until the end of the parliament's term, and support comrade Saková for the position of the first Deputy Speaker. That way comrade Švestka won't be skipped and his hard work for the Party will be awarded, comrade Čikarová will know that she is still considered to lead the Party in the next legislative election and comrade Saková will know the same while gaining yet more experience as the first Deputy Speaker." he finished his speech, openly suggesting that Saková wouldn't be elected Speaker during this term. He sensed great opportunity from establishing closer relation directly with Reiserová overcoming his dependance on Saková, and if this didn't work out he could still tell Saková that he fought for her and that she at least became the first Deputy Speaker thanks to him.
Reiserová reached out for her glass and took a sip. The short period of silence unnerved Mejzlík. He knew that if the President would disagree his dependance on Saková would only increase. "That's a good idea Lubomír! Thank you, we will do that." she smiled and responded briefly. Mejzlík expected the meeting to be brief but didn't expect such a short response from the President, yet she already stood up and dismissed him. But he was very happy that she approved of his suggestion and couldn't help but smile.
"One last thing." he heard her say as he was leaving forcing him to turn around. "Do you by any chance do yoga?" Reiserová smiled.
"I.... Yes comrade President."
"Good! In that case I will see you tomorrow morning outside of the Castle at 7:30, have a nice night." Reiserová finished the meeting by planning Mejzlík's morning for him. She decided to go to her private rooms few minutes after the meeting ended, satisfied with another productive day.
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30th of December
Prague Castle"Venomous snakes! Just like their one in Garden of Eden. Is this how their appreciate everything we've done for them? To approach a foreign leader, to attempt to breach the unity of our people, that is bordering on high treason. Comrade President I suggest our response to be swift and decisive. The People's Militias must end their demonstrations and we surely have a list of the most reactionary priests we could arrest?" Shouted František Weisser still under clear influence of alcohol from celebrating the election of Albína Reiserová two years ago. Heads of many of the other Government officials were clearly hurting from the shouting as they were dealing with a hangover.
"We do keep a track.... but Comrades, our intel is limited since the founding for the secret police was lowered." responded Bohumila Dvořáková, looking paler than usual.
Weisser, a longtime member of the League of Militant Godless wanted to continue, raising his hand, but a simple short sigh by the President stopped him before his mouth let out any more words and he again lowered his hand. "You know I don't like to do these things František." she said after finishing to massage her temples. She set in front of a portrait of herself, she had installed in the meeting room, as she herself started to believe that her portrait had beneficial effects on human health. After she said her sentence she looked to her right to see Karel Šin, one of the few completely sober members of the government staring into his phone, before she took it from him and placed it on the table before him.
"Comrade President is correct, too strong of a response could tarnish our image on the international scale. We don't even yet know how Inquista will respond." Jasmína Dlouhá quickly came in support of the President's words.
"I see all the arguments are on your side," conceded Weisser with a wide smile, not daring to openly disagree, "I can now see why a more moderate approach would be of most benefit."
"Good, and let the League of Militant Godless know that I wish for them to calm down and moderate too. And besides, you know, Christmas is a nice holiday, we could make that a national holiday." Reiserová smiled at Zuzana Saková who smiled back at her. "Who's in favour of proposing making Christmas a national holiday to the National Assembly? The decision was adopted unanimously." she smiled very slightly.
"Comrade President, what about the trust of foreign investors? We can't afford to let the new mall in Kroměříž without a parking lot and we can't afford to let the protests go for a very long time." Lubomír Mejzlík voiced his concern and for a while there was silence while the President was looking at him.
"You are right Lubomír.... well, you know, can't we move the church, like we have done in Most in the 70s? To demonstrate our dedication to cultural heritage and the, you know, strength of scientific socialism?" she asked.
"We could, but it will be horribly expensive." confirmed Heřman Švestka
"Perhaps the Catholic Church could be told to raise money for moving of the church and we could get people to lay down the rails on a subbotnik?" asked Saková and she was rewarded by an approval from Reiserová, before the President's phone started ringing, she answered and talked a while with her kids before leaving the room for half an hour, returning with red, watery eyes from crying. She wanted to spend today preparing for the New Year celebrations with them, but instead she was forced to sit here and talk about religious affairs. Saková soon rushed to her to give her a hug and after Reiserová sat back down Šin tokk her hand for a moment.
"Share our position with the Archdiocese of Prague and demand from them cancellation of their demonstration as a requirement." she told him, still sobbing. "Any other business?" she then asked the members of her government.
"Yes comrade President." confirmed Viktor Hladík, whose alcohol tolerance allowed him to still take a shot of vodka after the confirmation.
"How important is it?" Reiserová asked, hoping she could leave the presiding over the meeting to Švestka.
"Most important." Minister Hladík soon shattered her plan to leave. "Comrades, we have all heard the blood thirsty wolves in the Council going mad, barking about war, threatening sovereign nations with war breaking down if we do not submit to their will. Now we have great advantage of knowing how cowardly those wolves truly are, but that still shouldn't make us overtly confident... I believe that we need to increase the defensive capabilities of our armed forces in these most difficult times.... comrade President, comrades, I propose to form a biological division of our army and initiate development of biological weapons, in particular botulism, which outbreak we tragically experienced recently."
The room fell completely quiet and so Hladík continued, "We must understand, that our enemy could have nuclear weapons and know too well that if we deployed ours, we would doom ourselves, thus he would know that they are unusable in practice due to their destructiveness. On the other hand they must realize our willingness to use much less destructive biological warfare. And what could their response be? They cannot use their nuclear weapons as a response, for we would seal their doom with our own nuclear weapons." Hladík was still convinced that abolishing ranks in the armed forces drastically reduced their defensive capabilities, but he could not convice Reiserová of it, and thus was willing to increase them through other ways.
"That is horrible, what about the civilians?" Reiserová voiced her concern, "and isn't it, you know, illegal?"
"Comrade President, I assure you that the threat of us using biological weapons would deter any potential invader, we learned of their cowardice recently. They would serve only as a deterrent, this way we are saving civilian lives from war altogether. And war is what should be illegal, when a war erupts all civilized ways have been lost, that must be avoided.... still we would have to take proper care that our program does not get revealed, as it technically is illegal,... others must be only allowed to suspect and be afraid." another long silence.
After about two minutes of complete silence Reiserová finally swallowed heavily, "Better call Silas. He has an understanding of these issues and, you know, he can tell me the Inquistan position."
-
3rd of April
Prague CastleSilence reigned in the meeting room of the Prague Castle, silence and heads pointed down, at the table. With the exception of heads of Reiserová, Weisser, Dlouhá, who were looking in front of them, and Šín, who was looking at his phone. "Well?" President Reiserová!s voice finally cut through the tense silence.
"Exceptional comrade President, not a moment too soon, not a moment too late, but just at the opportune time. Our economy has fully realized is potential within the primary stage of socialism, and it is time to move forward with realities of today. I of course support your suggestion fully." nodded František Weisser with a smile, finally, his dreams were going to fruition. The President has suggested the re-nationalization of private property, starting with foreign companies, and he could not hide the pride he felt at being vindicated.
The President's focus shifted to her Minister of Foreign Affairs who took a deep breath, "Of course there will be difficulties, but I believe as far as my department goes, we are ready to respond to any,... hostile actions from abroad, our alliances should stand as firm as our Party under your guide. I join comrade Weisser in supporting your suggestion." Dlouhá confirmed and Reiserová acknowledged her response with a simple nod.
"Heřman?" the President asked her Minister of Finance, who raised his head and exhaled, "I realize it might be the right thing to do, but I am not quite sure the budget will be ready for such an abrupt step, we have not managed to meet our saving goals, and the funds we were capable to gain from abroad also did not meet our expectations." his remarks were met with a smirk by Minister Saková, who, despite otherwise agreeing with him, was never able to get enough funding form the Ministry of Finance for her own Ministry, due to the goal to collect a large amount of money, instead of investing over the last half a year.
"And what about our international partners, just a few months ago you have welcomed the Emperor of Inimicus here, and before the Prime Ministers of Reitzmag and Spain, you have called them your friends, you asked them for all those investments and you have promised them..." he was cut off before he could finish.
"I am an actress Heřman, I called them what was necessary and I acted towards them as was necessary to develop our state. The people, the workers and peasants of this country, are my only friends." Reiserová responded, "And as you said, it is the right thing to do. And inevitable if we want to achieve, you know, a highly developed socialist economy, either we do it now or we leave it for later. I realize the risk, and I will not leave the burden to my successors." she continued, with a loud exhale at the end. She got the idea of what a socialist economy should look like from the books, given to her by Minister Weisser, and she has thought, that achieving a fully developed socialist economy was a task for her. A task no other could handle aside from her, due to the potentially damaging reactions from abroad.
"Very correct comrade President! To leave this necessary step on the revolutionary road for later would be to spit in the face of all those who have sacrificed their lives to building a highly developed socialist economy, now that it is within reach." reassured her Weisser, once again acknowledged only by the President's nod.
"Will everyone be ready to carry out their duties?" Heřman Švestka asked, with his voice slightly shaking. And the Minister of Defense and the Minister of Interior responded with their nods.
"Pavel?" the President asked her Minister of Agriculture, "What about the, you know, farmers and the fishermen?"
"The farmers and the fisherman are always behind you, comrade President!" he responded, "But, please,consider the effects re-nationalization could have on the sector, I would say they need... more time." in fact however, Dohnal like many others in the room, disagreed with this re-nationalization, doubting any potential economic benefits and fearing instability, isolation and recession, at best.
"Perhaps then, we could make an exception for the agricultural and fishing sectors? Perhaps six more months for small and medium agricultural enterprises and a full year for small and medium fishing enterprises until they are nationalized?" Lubomír Mejzlík suggested his compromise. He also wan't a keen supporter of the idea of re-nationalization, but he sensed an opportunity to appear as a trouble solver in front of Reiserová.
"All the private enterprises in fishing industry are small or medium." Dohnal responded before looking at the President's face, seeing her eyes were set on him, he felt pierced by her gaze, "I think the farmers and fishermen would be in support of that idea." he resigned himself.
And again the room fell silent. Finally Karel Šín stood up and opened his mouth with a smile. But before he could sey a single word, his actions were noticed by Zuzana Saková, who quickly jumped to her legs and not wishing to let any other to appear more loyal shouted: "Long live comrade Reiserová!" despite also disagreeing with re-nationalization. Soon she was joined by Šín, Weisser, Dlouhá, Mejzlík and in few seconds by all the other Ministers. President Reiserová smiled, "The decision has been adopted unanimously, I'll see you in the National Assembly in two hours." with that she turned around and walked to her private office, as majority of her government grouped together, to discuss the influence of minister Weisser.
Meanwhile Reiserová opened her phone and wrote two sentences to Silas Kligenberg, "Remember when I told you I will always be gentle to you, and that you will thank me for it? I will be expecting that 'thank you' today : P" she pondered for few seconds before sending the message. But as soon as she did, she turned down notifications from him. He had to believe she was too busy to answer him at the moment. Once again, the President for Life realized how difficult the task, of not peaking at the messages from him until the evening, in front of her was.
-
27th of October
Prague CastleAs only few seconds remained until 11 PM nearly all of the lights in the Castle were off, including in the President's very own office. But the office was not empty nor was it completely dark. Illuminated by a number of candles, President Reiserová's body could be seen lying on a couch with a figuer of an older man standing besides her. Neither the President, nor her guest have been dressed in formal clothing, as tradistion and dress code requested. Instead, Albína Reiserová was dressed in a long white dress with red patterns and a red belt with her feet bare. The man sported a tunic in the same colours and the very same belt as well as completely white trousers and simple black boots, which appeared quite battered.
"Thank you Slavomír, our meetings have been very enlightening to me." Reiserová whispered, as the man, who was given the name Edvard by his parents, nodded. "*You know, I tried to talk to a psychologist in secret, to talk about the stress and fear I feel. To talk about how I do not understand why the economic growth slowed down, despite doing my best to fight against corruption and sabotage, to talk about how it is scaring me. But she just wasn't able to explain anything..." she continued before being interrupted by Slavomír.
"Naturally... comrade... President, one without understanding can not hope to receive blessings to uncover the ancient wisdom, necessary to grasp human soul. Psychology can not compare to ancient wisdom, for psychology finds the individual sick, instead of the culture we are living in itself." he whispered in a tone slightly lower than Reiserová.
"Exacly! And you know, I always saw on Mikaela's and Silas' faces how happy they are, I... felt it. And recently I saw some pictures from religious events in Istkalen, all the people looking happy, because of faith..." Reiserová again, got interrupted.
"Faith in a foreign god of Judea, whose worship is completely alien to the children of Mokosh." Slavomír nodded with a smile on his face as he reinforced his beliefs.
"Of course, and it undermines the feminine as well." Reiserová agreed, "But all of them focused on the soul, focused on improving themselves on a spiritual level. And I realized, when the people made me a President, I changed myself, for the better. And, you know, the nation grew and prospered as I grew and prospered. I realized that the growth of the nation is not only connected but dependant on the growth of the spirit." Reiserová explained her thoughts as she continued lying down, nearly motionless while Slavomír continued nodding to her words. "So, if I want the nation to grow again I need to expand my understanding, to grow further and to guide the people towards the light of Dazhbog and the love of the Goddess."
"You are indeed extremely extraordinarily gifted in spirit wise leader!" Slavomír hanged his head low to express his admiration, "It has been the highest pleasure of my life to help and guide you towards the faith and truth... the revival is surely approaching... yet... of course... there is the question of politics in the material world as well, which must be solved, if we are to become cosmic beings. The Rodnovery movement is small but diverse and at times, sadly led by xenophobic, far-right ideologues who mend the truth to fit their political goals. They are true advesaries of developed socialist, of people's democracy, of the people as a whole and thus of the Gods. The movement must be cleansed of those people in the name of Perun, if we are to strive forward in spiritual development."
Resierová took few deep breaths before finally slowly standing up from the couch. "I will do what is necessary for the Goddess, especially given that her festival is tomorrow. StB agents will be redirected towards the movement to help you cleanse it of the poisonous snakes, to, you know, ensure the movement can spiritually lead the people.... Furthermore, I have decided to reveal the truth to my ministers after midnight. The League of Militant Godless shall not harass you no more, they will be disbanded tomorrow as well. Is the, you know, statue of Mokosh ready?" she raised her left eyebrow.
Slavomír gulped with an empty throat. He did not expect Reiserová to be as active as she was, he first met her in person just two and a half months ago, yet his words and his careful and calculated emphasis of the Patroness of women, children, childbirth and home have taken the President for Life over almost completely. Despite the fact that the neopagan religion had barely any structure and most of the beliefs of the ancient Slavs being lost to history. Yet this did not matter to Reiserová, she "felt" her spirit, she believed in ancient wisdom and that was what mattered the most to her. "Yes comrade President, the faithful have worked on the statue tirelessly. It is finished and ready for all offerings." He finally confirmed.
"Good, then I will see to it, that the statue is erected in front of the Castle tomorrow and the Goddess is honored with a proper festival for the first time since, you know, Great Moravia." Resierová nodded happily, feeling important and certain that restarting economic growth was just behind the corner, once she starts lifting the spirits of the citizens. "Now please, leave, Karel Šín will arrive shortly, he will be first to learn the truth."
Not wanting to delay the President any further, the older man said his goodbyes and left the room and the Castle. Reiserová meanwhile put down the candles and turned on the light, before she went to make herself some tea. Shortly after she made herself a cup of black tea and sat herself behind her office table, the door opened again and in them, the Minister of Culture Karel Šín.
"Evening. Alright listen, I am not sure what sort of project you had in mind, but the Ministry made the 14 dresses you have requested and they are just outside your office so..." As Karel Šín removed his sunglasses he finally looked at Reiserová, dressed in an outfit identical to the female version of the dresses that sttod in front of the office. "Is it for a spot? You can tell me about the projects you have in plan, you know Albína?" Šín's voice was full of surprise. Surprise and lack of rest. Suddenly his face went a little red, but he did not say anything. But a thought just creeped onto his mind, that Reiserová might have started her own show, while she continued turning down his ideas for a sitcom. But if he did voice this concern he was sure he would lose his job.
Reiserová chuckled and turned in her chair slightly, "Thank you Karel, no there will be no spot... only truth!" her voice was full of excitement, which puzzled Šín even more, "I called for the rest of the cabined to join us a bit after midnight. You know, I realized that the material growth is caused by the growth of the soul and I have decided to improve myself further, and to guide the others on their way to become cosmic beings, the way Goddess intended." she tried to explain herself, with a wide genuine smile on her face.
Šín on the other hand did not smile back. At this very moment, he was not sure if he did not break his vow to never drink alcohol again and wasn't completely drunk and hearing things. "Excuse me?" his confusion was no less genuine than Reiserová's smile.
-
28th of October
Prague Castle"Can you stop scratching your legs? You will drop the candles and besides, it doesn't look appropriate for a Minister." Reiserová complained, as she and Karel Šín approached the cabinet meeting room in the Castle approximately fifteen minutes after midnight.
"Well I am sorry, but you know, I told you the material is not comfortable." Šín responded in a weak voice. He felt like he was forced to wear a lot of silly outfits, during his active acting career, especially for 'Jersey' where he was forced to sport battered polo-shirts and shorts of various colour. But no outfit he ever wore seemed to him as silly as the white and red tunic, red belt and white pants he had on right now, an exact copy of the clothes Slavomír wore, safe for Šín's expensive formal shoes. If it was up to him, he would never put such clothes on his body, but the President urged him, and he knew better than to try and resist her. Around his neck was also a necklace with a symbol of Veles, god of the underworld and music among other things. The neclace was gifted to the Minister by Reiserová as she claimed that Czech Slavia lost previous Eurovoice contests, due to lacking a blessing from Veles.
"Oh I am so exited Karel, do you think the rest of the Cabinet will be able to see the truth immediately? Imagine how silly they will feel for ignoring the human soul up to now! But I was guilty of that too. Until now." Reiserová chatted exitedly, her still bare feet hitting the ground, "I actually have to use the restroom, would you please enter the room first and set up the candles for me? Thank you!", she waited for Šín to confirm that he will do just that before she left for the restroom.
Šín made sure to put his sunglasses back on, before opening the door to the conference room. Usually, he wore them, because he thought it made him look cool, but in this very moment, he just wanted to hide his eyes to feel a bit less shame about his clothes. Of course as soon as he opened the door, all the eyes of the other members of the Cabinet were on him, as all talk in the room died. Finally, Minister of the Environment Natálie Imberová started speaking, "Were you practicing for a play and forgot to change Karel?" out of the entire Cabinet who usually looked down on Šín, Imberová was perhaps the friendliset to him, safe for the President herself.
Šín simply smirked, "I am afraid our Wise Leader has found faith, you will see." he simply responded as he started putting candles on the table and lighting them up.
"Oh this is horrible!" Minister of Foreign Affairs Jasmína Dlouhá exclaimed after few confused looks, to which Minister of Education Weisser nodded.
"We will have to make sure nobody learns of this." added Minister of Regional Development Lubomír Mejzlík.
"I hope she at least joined the Hussites, and not the Catholics." Minister of Finance Heřman Švestka chuckled.
"I am sure in few minutes, you will be wishing it was the Catholics Heřman." Šín remarked simply as he turned off the electric lights and sat down, to much complaining of the rest of the Cabinet, who did not know why they were summoned, and most of them thought of their comfortable beds, waiting for them.
Then the door opened and in walked Reiserová herself, with Ministers looking puzzled about her dress, which matched the one Šín was wearing. Before she even sat down, she made sure to remove Šín's sunglasses from his eyes, she always hated when he wore them indoors, but now she could not tolerate this accessory to corrupt the outfit of the Rodnovery.
"Comrade President, if I may." Minister of Industry and Trade Květoslav Musil took the floor as soon as Reiserová seated down, feeling that he knew what the meeting was to be about. "Indeed the numbers have been verified and both Škoda and Tatra vehicle manufacturers reported record sales in the third quarter of the year, with the number only expected to increase in the current quarter and in certain location their cars became a favorite affordable alternative to the bigger competitors." Minister of Agriculture Pavel Dohnal slightly sighted at Musil words, considering them an attack on the funding that was dedicated to fishing and agriculture each year in the budget.
"Oh, well, that is wonderful! Thank you Květoslav. But, you know, I did not come to talk about cars, I came to remind us of a more important topic, the human soul!" Excitement did not leave Reiserová's voice as she stood up from her chair, "Comrades, I have realized for how long our administration has ignored the development of people's spirituality, to understanding of the world and I could not be idle any longer, this has to change. I realized that we, as a nation, as Slavs, are the children of the gods and in order to become cosmic beings we have to rediscover the ancient wisdom of our ancestors, to, you know, achieve this, we must..." she could not finish the sentence as she was interrupted.
"Albína... are you feeling... well?" Minister Švestka whispered as the other members of the cabinet looked at their President with eyes wide opened in shock, safe for Karel Šín who was smirking and at least playing with his sunglasses.
"Comrade Minister! Do not interrupt me! The positive aura can not flourish if you keep emitting negative energy, which prevents the growth of the soul!" Reiserová raised her voice, before calming down, "I have had many enlightening talks with an important and knowledgeable person, and he helped me see the truth. I realized that our ancestors understood the world and human spirit better than current society does, due to their connection to the Gods, which was separated by the arrival of Christianity and I have decided to revive this connection with our Gods. Comrades I ask you to join the Rodnovery together with me." now the room was completely silent.
"Rodnovery? Aren't they mostly led by neofascists and antisemites?" the Minister of interion Bohumila Dvořáková finally asked, unsure if she heard the President properly.
"Well, you know, there have been some controversial figures associated with the movement... but those people aren't really interested in the uplifting of the spirit and our connection to the Gods..." Reiserová's voice got a bit more shaky, "But the truly faithful will cleanse the movement of all the snakes, which is why... you will redirect some of the StB agents from the anti-corruption campaign towards the Rodnovery movement to help cleanse it. Find, you know, dirt on these problematic individuals so they can be driven away from the movement so it can become fully focused on the worship of the Goddess." the President received no response.
"Furthermore," she cleared her throat, "Tomorrow apart from the celebration of our independence a festival of the goddess Mokosh will be held and I will have her statue erected in front of the Castle, I expect all of you to attend, I have had suiting outfits made for all of you." she paused for a second, "Except for you comrade Weisser, you are associated with the League of the Militant Godless, you are not Slavic and you will be resigning soon so it would not seem right. But you will inform the League that they have been disbanded. The Party will vote to disband them at around 10 AM today. And all the atheist propaganda will also be stopped from today"
"Disbanded? but Comrade President the League,.." Weisser could not believe his ears, but he got interrupted before he could finish.
"Has served its historic purpose in helping to get the nation from the sway of the foreign god. Now it has no purpose and it will be disbanded." the President for Life raised her voice again, before smiling at her Cabinet, "Comrades, will you join me in the Movement? Will you help me guide the nation towards the light of Dazhbog?"
"Of course Albína we are with you!" shouted Minister of Health Zuzana Saková, always seeking to appease her President. Soon she was joined with shouts of the other Ministers, swearing their loyalty to the Pantheon and thanking Reiserová for "finally allowing us to see the truth!"
Satisfied the President for Life nodded several times, "Excellent, I knew you would understand! Alright people I am a bit tired now, you will find your outfits just outside the door. See you all at 11 AM tomorrow in front of the Castle, I can't wait to see the festival!" with a wide smile, Reiseroáva turned around and finally left the room, leaving her Cabinet alone as she went ot her private room to get some sleep.
"She called us here at this time just to tell us this?" Saková asked once they were alone.
"I am afraid our Genius Leader has unfortunately lost touch with reality." Dohnal remarked.
"And we will all suffer for it, can you imagine us standing in public, dressed in these ridiculous clothes while we give offerings to a statue and dance in circles? Nobody will take us seriously but if we say that our Wise Leader is insane our government will end and counterrevolution will triumph." added Mejzlík.
"Why was she even chosen to be the candidate of the Party in the first place? Well I know that, but why was she entrusted with the Extraordinary Court before that? She always seemed a bit unwell..." asked Musil.
"I heard she was just kind of there, when Šedivý and Vicanová were dividing the country among themselves and they had to assign something to Albína, so they gave her the Court, as they only knew that she was a mother and therefore just. Then they both ended in front of the Court and suddenly Albína was the only eligible candidate for the President left. But I do know she used to be fairly organized in the trade union before all that." Dohnal, as a veteran establishemnt figure shrugged his shoulders, "Regardless, we will overcome."
"Comrades, do you realize what this means? By 11 AM we will need to fill the space before the Castle with people! If nobody shows up it would look really bad for the President and for us. I will quickly contact the heads of the regional Party branches to send some members, but of course we will also have to find the appropriate clothes for them..." Mejzlík reminded the rest as Šín chuckled at the scene, feeling a little less silly about himself now.
Naturally, none of this bothered Reiserová herself, as arrived in her private rooms, took a quick shower and laid her head on a comfortable pillow, full of excitement about the festival and happy thought about the, in her eyes, positive change she just made.
