A Tale of Two Nations

[Saaremaa]

9[SUP]th[/SUP] of May 1953

The plane started its slow descent on the San Salvo International Airport. Jaak Kuusk was looking outside the window, seeing the old Tiburan city. He tried to smile as he finally saw the final destination of their journey.
“Mother, when can we return home?” asked Katarina Kuusk, his little sister of only 8 years old.

“Soon, my dear. Soon.” Responded Leena, the mother of Katarina and Jaak. She didn’t want to sadden her daughter and she also knew that she wouldn’t understand their situation, especially at her age.

The Kuusk family left Kuressaare two days ago when the police beaten the demonstrating students and killed one of them. They stayed in the countryside trying to escape the continuous fights in the capital, but when the Generals signed the Raasiku Declaration, things were clear. If they want to escape all this chaos, they need to get out of the country. In the night between the 8[SUP]th[/SUP] and 9[SUP]th[/SUP] of May, they came again to Kuressaare and managed to take the last flight to Alderburgh in Ivernia. After exchanging two more flights, they finally arrived in San Salvo. In the city where their aunt Kadri moved more than ten years ago, they hoped to find the peace they needed and were stripped of by the fights in Kuressaare and the coup.

The custom papers were quickly completed as most of the documents were already done by the Potenzan embassy in Kuressaare. They took afterwards a cab to the apartment of their aunt, hear the Ponte Vecchio.
Kadri Kuusk moved to Potenza at the behest of some businessman from San Salvo that came to Saaremaa when the timber industry was opened to foreigners around fifteen years ago. Jaak couldn’t remember his name. When she moved, most of the family tagged her as a whore. But now, this whore was seen at the most balls and conferences held by Potenzan business men in the capital. From the letters received from her, the family understood that she broke up with that Tiburan and now she was single, but they couldn’t explain how come that even if they broke up, she remained with a large apartment in the heart of the Old Town and money to maintain it. The family couldn’t and when rumors appeared that she may be involved with the Potenzan Mafia… they wouldn’t even want to know. But nevertheless, they were happy when they received the message that Kadri would accommodate them until the crisis in Saaremaa is over.

“My god, Jaak how much you grew up!” she literally screamed when she saw them for the first time.

“Hello, aunt Kadri.” Jaak said hugging her.

After she greeted Katarina, Leena and her brother Andrus, she offered them lunch and then went to help them take their luggage in the rooms that were designated to them. Though both Leena and Andrus continuously asked for forgiveness for their intrusion, the responses from Kadri were the same: “No… now at least the house doesn’t feel so lonely anymore.”

Now that they finally arrived, some things needed to be done in the following days. Enrolling Katarina to a school for the third grade that would start in the autumn and for Andrus and maybe even Jaak, as he was eighteen, finding something to work; Leena agreed to help Kadri with keeping the apartment clean and well maintained. Their future in Potenza was just now starting.

 

[Potenza]

Every person, once in their life, goes through a phase where life is an endless dream. Everything is fascinating, everything is amazing, and every tiny detail blows the mind beyond comprehension. Most experience this as children, when they first start taking in the world around them, and their mind begins to rationalize and devour everything from the color of the sky to the habits of birds in the morning. Most grow out of this, as the harshness of life dulls their wonder, and the bastard child of skepticism and reality - cynicism - destroys this phase, ending it perhaps forever.

Fredo, however, was still in this phase. This Potenzan expatriate, emigrating from the Grand Duchy, was arriving in Saaremaa, and one could have sworn he was a sinner approaching the gates of paradise and knowing that his sins were forgiven. He was about 23-years of age now, and over time he grown dissatisfied with the political system in Potenza. "Niccolism" was a lie - there was no way to balance the power between the people and the nobility. The Grand Duke held the true power, and the prime minister was nothing more than a noble elected by the people. Fredo had watched as (he believed) Prime Minister Gaetano Merlino created a borderline police state with his Operation Reconquista and he sold the foreign policy of the nation to the businesses. He had watched as (he believed) the Grand Duke threw his armies about to enslave foreign lands and enslave other people. Where many people saw the nation getting better, with the economy improving and the status of the Grand Duchy being seen in brighter lights in foreign lands, Fredo only saw a slow descent into chaos.

Studying for a Bachelor's in Political Science at the University of San Salvo, Fredo came across an old, dusty copy of a book written by a Saaremaan author by the name of Koit Eskola. The book had been written in the 1880's, but this Tiburan translation had been written in 1901 and apparently had been forgotten about. The librarian told Fredo that it was probably the only copy in all of Potenza...Fredo treated it holier than Muslims treat the Quran. He ate up the pages with his eyes, and began to love what he digested. Eskola seemed to promise an apolitical society, but not in the interest of anarchism. No, the nation would keep its identity, traditions and classes, but with no political class ruling over all. He shared this with his classmates, but most of them scoffed at it. They were all liberalists any way, borderline communist in Fredo's eyes. Over time, he stopped discussing it - he wasn't going to throw his pearl before swine any more.

Finally, after receiving his bachelor's and studying for a Master's in Foreign Affairs, he discovered that there was a chance to earn credit abroad by studying in Saaremaa (and various other countries). The Potenzan government didn't care much for Saaremaa's new government, but the University of San Salvo had managed to salvage some contact in the "interests of education and societal advancement." Fredo at once leaped to the opportunity - in fact, he was the only one to pursue it. He was sent to the Saaremaan embassy (which had not been expelled...yet) where he received the paper. The Saaremaan employees seemed surprised at this, but also flattered, happy to see someone in the Grand Duchy interested in their culture (some were surprised Fredo even knew who Eskola was). The young Potenzan student was soon on his way.

Getting to the country itself was an adventure all its own, a long journey to Ivernia, where he got on a plane out of Alderburgh that would take him to the capitol of Saaremaa itself: Kuresaarre. The Potenzan kept to himself, carrying nothing but a bag with some clothes, the clothes on his back, and some money to help him get by until the first government pension (he had spent most of the money he had saved up just arranging the transportation).

So here was Fredo, a young idealist, arriving to the promised land. He had faith in the Saaremaan military's intentions, and the new political system the people were experiencing. He was like a religious zealot coming to the holy land, and expecting to meet God himself.

The next big experience was leaving the airplane, when Fredo encountered a Saaremaan customs officer. Fredo had dark hair and the swarthy skin usual of the people in southern Potenzan, and though he had been studying the language of the land for some time now, he still bore a Tiburan accent that gave him away. The officer seemed curious about this, and seemed to not trust the young, thin man at first, even though Fredo was completely honest and told him he was from Potenza at first.

"Name, please?"

"Fredo Bertinelli."

"Anything to declare?"

"My bag here, some clothes."

"Why are you coming to Saaremaa, sir?"

At this question, Fredo shuffled through some papers in his jacket, handing over the papers given by the embassy. At this, the officer smiled, nodding. Suddenly, all possible tension was removed. The officer motioned the Potenzan through the airport, towards a government office, where some men would be able to help him. Sure enough, there were other officers there to assist Fredo.

From here, Fredo was taking to his small apartment, where he would be stationed for the duration of his time. He already had a position there, doing research at the think tank at the Institute of Politology for the Advancement of the Stratocracy. The name alone excited Fredo...he couldn't wait for the first day. When he was finally left alone in his apartment, he went to his small bed in his almost empty apartment, laying on it with his hands behind his head and his eyes gazing up at the white ceiling.

Yes, he though to himself, here I am, in paradise.

 

[Saaremaa]

14[SUP]th[/SUP] of May 1953
San Salvo; Potenza

Jaak went outside with Kadri after Leena went to bed Katarina and Andrus went to the Saaremaan embassy. Jaak’s father wanted to return to Saaremaa as soon as possible, so when the news came that Colonel Edvin Allik surrendered Kuressaare to the generals and Sibul’s white forces deserted him and joined the generals. It was clear: the fight winded down and everything should calm down by now. Andrus decided to try to go to back to Kuressaare and see if the waters are calm enough for the safety of his family.

Meanwhile, Kadri became an object of interest for Jaak. She always had the money to maintain the house, do the shopping, was wearing popular Potenzan brands and stayed most of the time at home. Today, he thought that here is the chance to ask her, especially when his parents weren’t nearby:

“Aunt Kadri, please don’t mind… but… how can you accommodate us here, without accepting any money from us and staying with us most of the time...”

“Ah, yes… I understand, Jaak. Well, I suppose your parents didn’t tell you the story…Well… I was a bit younger than you. I was fifteen and your father was eighteen. A month before all those events, King Alvar V started a privatization process and gave most of the shares of the SaarTimber to sale and foreign investors were flooding the capital. By accident mostly, I slept with a Potenzan businessman. And he kept me close. I remained with him during his stay in Saaremaa and he took me to all the proms and dances of the nobility and though guys of the monarchy. I met the old Tamm family, the Alliks, the Saares. Those were the best days of my life. When everything was over, it was in the fall of ’38.
He came to me and told me that he must leave to San Salvo. I didn’t know what to respond. He was cold this time. He simply said that he must go and stopped there, as if he was waiting for a response for me. Then, without thinking about anything, I just said: I want to come with you! He looked at me and said, without changing his expression… Take your luggage and come on. At first, I thought I was insane, going after a foreigner two times older than me and now he was taking me with him in the south.

Maybe it was a mistake, maybe it wasn’t … either way, I went with him to Potenza. There, I observed he wasn’t really the typical businessman. I met some of the more… let’s say important families in Potenza… I met with Mazzio, Piazzi, Greco, Calabria and I observed that he was a member of the Cosimo family. At first I was shocked. The man I was infatuated with was a member of such a savage and cruel organization. I was scared and I wanted to return home, but I was sure that if I tell him that I want to leave, he would do anything ending with killing me… So, I tried to escape without him knowing and he caught me. And then he said… That he actually loved me, not only sleeping with me, but truly loving me. And after that, I stayed beside him to all the proms, meetings and so on. Four years ago, he betrayed the family and me. After a failed operation of the police to try to arrest some members of the family, he was found dead, decapitated. And after all those things… I was noticed by one of the sons of the big boss and for visiting him from time to time and sometimes stating my opinion regarding an operation, I get everything you saw in the apartment.” By this time, they stopped in front of a café.

“Have you ever tasted real Potenzan coffee?”

“No…” said Jaak smiling.

“Well, here’s your chance. Come one.” They just seated themselves to a table and asked for two coffees as a group of three men and a woman entered the establishment speaking loudly.

“Oh my… speaking of the devil…” Said Kadri to Jaak when she recognized the elder son of Cosimo.

Present day
Kuressaare

The National Institute for the Advancement of the Stratocracy was situated on the Union Boulevard, in the middle of Kuressaare. Like all the surrounding buildings, the Institute was built in a classicist style at the end of the 19[SUP]th[/SUP] century. On the left of the institute, the Revolution Square was situated, with a huge roundabout in the middle and surrounded by the buildings of the Kuressaare University. On the right, going alongside the Union Boulevard and following the small Reiu River anyone could find the Pirita district, built first for workers at the Kiirongiga Factory but now it was populated mostly by people who were members of or interacting with or friends of the National Assembly and the state organizations. In the one of the flats situated in Pirita, built in early ’30, Fredo received a studio apartment.

The first day at the institute finally came and Fredo met with his new colleagues. He was given an office that he will share with Alvar Kask and Eva Tamm and their boss will be the General Secretary and member of the National Assembly, Hendrik Sepp. All of them were young supporters of the State, having recently graduated from college and witnessed both the fall of the monarchy and the revolution.

As the institute was created officially in the same day Fredo arrived in Saaremaa, all of them made acquaintance on that day. The morning was very relaxing for all of them, until they Sepp entered the office and told them to come to a meeting.

“So, some of you have already heard, but for the rest of you, we have received a telex from the Office of the State Defender. The institute is to start writing a political book, about how can Eskola’s ideas be introduced in a state. Not in theory, but in practice, in real world. I want you all to write some articles, about this. Not very long, mostly ideas about Eskola’s ideology of Meritocracy and Stratocracy and how would you implement them. I will go to the Assembly with the ideas and if they are accepted we will all work to develop those ideas and thus write the new political bible that the Assembly wants,” said Sepp after everyone assembled in the conference room. As people started talking about the preliminary ideas for the articles, Sepp went to speak with Fredo.

“Listen, son- he called everyone like that, you come from Potenza and I believe that you know something about the politologist Koit Eskola, otherwise you wouldn’t be here. You may know that his books presenting the Meritocracy often started with ways of how a Meritocratic government comes to power. In his first books, when… I imagine he was young, naïve and an idealist, he talked about a peaceful change of the government, from a monarchy to a meritocracy. In the later ones, he radicalized himself, starting every book with a call to revolution, describing how the real battle that the Meritocracy itself must fight is against the hereditary systems. Tell me, Bertinelli, can you write your article… and I will make sure that it will get accepted… with the subject being a Meritocratic revolution in Potenza and how would that affect the country and the people?

 

[Potenza]

14th of May 1953
San Salvo; Potenza

Of the three men, two were very well known in the seedier places of San Salvo. They were none other than Anthony and Angelo Cosimo, two sons of Franco Cosimo, one of the largest of the five major Potenzan mob families. Their territory consisted of much of the San Salvo area, and of the five families, they were perhaps the most vicious. Their thugs were hired from the dregs of San Salvo's slums to do their bidding, and they were among the only mob families who killed not for revenge or to make a statement...but simply for fun. Yet of all the gang, none were more vicious or feared than Anthony and Angelo. They lived life to the fullest, and had no moral standards. They killed any who crossed them, and any who they lost interest with. Their murders were brutal and bloody, so much so that even the Carabinieri had express orders that, if ever they were suspected for a crime or wanted for questioning, they were not be arrested with less than four officers present.

The other two people were of no real consequence - one was a thug, wearing raggedy clothes that might have been a lovely suit once, but had no doubt been found in some pawn shop in downtown San Salvo. The girl was some skinny, dark-haired Potenzan female who was giggling uncontrollably and running her young fingers over Angelo's chest over and over again. As the group entered the establishment, many went quiet, and even the server - a young woman - retreated into the kitchen, telling the manager she refused to serve them. The manager went out, bowing to Anthony and Angelo and no doubt offering them nothing less than the establishment itself, so long as they were pleased.

It was then that Anthony turned, noticing Kadri. A toothy smile crept over his lips, and his dark eyes took the look of a hawk noticing its prey. Both Cosimo brothers were handsome in their own right, but in their eyes and smiles laid something deeper and far more dangerous than someone unfamiliar with them might realize.

"Kadri!!" came a great cry, causing an older gentleman at the next table to jump (though he did not protest). "Kadri!! Come here!" Anthony reached over, grabbing an empty chair from the next table (again, the old man did not protest) and brought it over next to him. "Come here! Bring your friend! Who is he?"

Angelo turned, seeing Kadri and grinning himself, eyeing her up and down. This was noticed by the young girl he was with, who took on a bit of a frightened look and forced Angelo to turn to her, kissing him hard. The brothers were known to love and kill women in their lives...enjoying them as long as they could, and murdering them horribly if they lost interest in their little pets. Failing to keep them pleasured would prove deadly for any woman who was seduced by the brothers' power and wealth.

"Ah, my little Saaremaan fox!" Anthony said, letting Kadri sit on his lap while Jaak was permitted to sit in the spare chair. "Your Potenzan wolf missed you, you know...so yes, who is this lucky person with you?"

Present day
Kuressaare

It was almost like the first day of classes when Fredo arrived at the Institute. He was beginning to make small talk with two of the people he would be working with, excited to ask questions about the fall of the monarchy and the revolution. That was what was going on suddenly Hendrik Sepp appeared. Fredo was somewhat familiar with him: an important man, being General Secretary and a member of the National Assembly. He summoned the three into a large assembly hall, and began to address all present, Fredo listening intently:

"So, some of you have already heard, but for the rest of you, we have received a telex from the Office of the State Defender. The institute is to start writing a political book, about how can Eskola’s ideas be introduced in a state. Not in theory, but in practice, in real world. I want you all to write some articles, about this. Not very long, mostly ideas about Eskola’s ideology of Meritocracy and Stratocracy and how would you implement them. I will go to the Assembly with the ideas and if they are accepted we will all work to develop those ideas and thus write the new political bible that the Assembly wants..."

As people began their projects, Sepp took Fredo aside and spoke to him privately:

"Listen, son, you come from Potenza and I believe that you know something about the politologist Koit Eskola, otherwise you wouldn’t be here. You may know that his books presenting the Meritocracy often started with ways of how a Meritocratic government comes to power. In his first books, when… I imagine he was young, naïve and an idealist, he talked about a peaceful change of the government, from a monarchy to a meritocracy. In the later ones, he radicalized himself, starting every book with a call to revolution, describing how the real battle that the Meritocracy itself must fight is against the hereditary systems. Tell me, Bertinelli, can you write your article… and I will make sure that it will get accepted…with the subject being a Meritocratic revolution in Potenza and how would that affect the country and the people?"

A swell of pride went up in Fredo's heart, and if he weren't under great control, his chest probably would have puffed out a few inches. He had been personally asked to handle the report on a Meritocratic government revolution in Potenza. This was something he had worked over in his mind since he first read the book by Koit Eskola. Without a moment's hesitation, he wholeheartedly accepted the offer from Sepp and shook his hand vigorously.

Fredo sat down at his desk and at once began to draw up notes. His mind was free and flowing like a waterfall, as all his ideas became organized and were fleshed out on paper. Then he began to write a report, which went something like this:

The Revolutionary Model in the Grand Duchy of Potenza
by Fredo Bertinelli

The need for Meritocracy has never been higher in the history of the Grand Duchy than it is today. The prime minister permits corporations to purchase the rights not only of their fellow Potenzans, but those in foreign lands as well. The Grand Duke dominates the political scene with his corruption as marred as his leg. The nobility's desire to maintain power in the face of popular freedom was seen with the creation of Count Niccolo di Grimaldi's Neo-Reactionary movement, which sought the preservation and advancement of monarchical governments across Europe - yet it was but a facade for the spread of oppression and the continuation of an antiquated form of government. This oppression and plutocracy must be done away with, so that the nation can truly advance. Dramatic change is therefore needed in the government - however, just as this dramatic change will advance the nation, so too will it require dramatic change to the population.

What is first necessary is for there to be a dramatic change in how the Potenzan people see the divisions in their country. People still maintain the old ducal divisions, saying "I am of the Duchy of Treviso," and "I am of the Duchy of San Salvo," etc. This grants to the nobility, who rule each duchy individually with the Grand Duke ruling over all, some legitimacy. For the average Potenzan, the noble is seen with their identity, in the similar way a president or prime minister is in most republics. The people must be educated to forgo this identification - a Potenzan must be identified by Potenza only. When this happens, they will realize that they do not need the nobility to survive.

In addition to this, change will have to be made in regards to the Grand Duke. He must be seen for what he is: a weak, corrupt example of a system of government that has long outlived its usefulness. He is not our fearless leader or our great father - he is like any other man, but is given his rank and position based on his lineage rather than his skill to rule. The Chamber of Ministers is a facade to the world to appear that Potenza has democratic principles, but in actuality they cow-tow and bow before the Grand Duke as they do a god. They are funded and seduced by the nobles to do their bidding, and so the people's will is not truly seen in their halls. It is clear that the entire nobility must be realized by the people as corrupt plutocrats, and their current system of government the puppets of plutocrats.

Most important, however, would be the effect of this reeducation upon the military. The Potenzan military answers directly to the Grand Duke, and swear fealty to him. If a people's revolution were to rise at this moment, the Potenzan military would be summoned to crush it. The Potenzan soldiers, who are your average citizens in uniform, must be made aware of the corruption they are under, and must be educated that they owe allegiance not to men who are in power by birth, but rather their allegiance is to Potenza itself and her people. Then, when the revolution comes, it will be possible that a large chunk of the military will rise with the people. Where, then, shall the nobility be without this crutch of power?

When the nobles are thrown out of the country, as they should have been centuries ago, and the Chamber of Ministers dissolved for a new system of government, a new dawn will rise over Potenza. The people will have a system of leaders who run the nation with its best intentions, and based upon merit of power rather than antiquated standards. Large businesses will finally be reigned in, and their control over the people of Potenza and foreign lands will finally be undone. What's more, this revolution shall spread to all Potenzan influences: wherever Potenzans live, wherever Potenzans do business, perhaps even in Northern Solaren where Potenzans are currently deployed. This ideology will be shown to be beneficial and the most important form of government available. With the fall of Potenza's nobility shall come the rise of a true Potenza who can be a light in the darkness.

With this report done, Fredo handed it in.