PART SIXTY-NINE: New Victorians (April 1st, 1899 – January 1st, 1905)
Philomon Anatolikos, Commissioner of the European Baseball League and Chairman of the International Olympic Committee
Evgenia Exteberria, Byzantine Ambassador to the North German Federation
Evgenia,
Well, thanks for getting me out of Germany. All the dirt I gathered on Goethe and in the end he runs a boat into a fucking iceberg and dies. It was fucking amateur hour in Berlin— Krupp all arranging the deck chairs on a sinking metaphor for the hubris of the entire Pangalist ideology.
The whole point of putting people like us in charge is that, by allowing the best and brightest in society to succeed by the sweat of their brow, the whole economy prospers, they can employ more people, and everyone reaps the proceeds. Money should trickle down. Icy North Atlantic water should not trickle down onto a bunch of poor people you’ve locked inside a terribly designed ship.
Moot point now, nobody will take us seriously anymore. Germany was the big ancap success story, and now they’re a laughingstock and they got overthrown by some hunk from the Sailor’s Union. Anyway, I was pretty sure I’d be shot in the head for being a filthy bourgeois emigré (which… well, fair cop) who had betrayed his people in aid of the Kazike (wrong, wrong, wrong), so I am grateful to instead be on a train back to Athens, my brains still in my skull, where I like them.
Anyway, you’re ambassador to Germany now, apparently. What the fuck is going on over there? There’s the Heilige Arbeiterpartei (god botherers) and the Montansyndikate (atheist communists, which I’d thought was an oxymoron— but Goethe had been kicking the shit out of the German church for decades) and I gather they don’t like one another too much. But all you Reds look alike.
P.A.
Philomon,
Imagine, if you will, an alternate universe where the labour and irenicist tendencies of socialism were, rather than close allies who together forged the Athens Commune, grew apart from years of being stuck in the pressure-cooker that is Johannes Goethe’s Germany. It doesn’t quite map— the HA is militant, the Montansyndikate is pacifist, etc., but it’s a start. With the Krupps, Goethes, et al., dead or fled, I am told by Comrade Müller that there was a very real risk of a civil war between the two factions.
Kurt Müller, Staatsrat of the North German Federation
Kurt Müller, who’s emerged as the leader of the Staatsrat (council of state), has— whatever my personal opinion of the man— came from the Sailor’s Union (indeed, he led a strike stemming from the appalling work conditions for the non-officer crew of Norddeutscher Lloyd’s liners) so he has credibility among the Montansyndikate— yet he is devoutly Catholic (or at least visibly pious) enough to be popular among the HA majority.
Citing both this internal conflict among German communists and socialists and what he perceives as the general weakness of German democratic institutions, (“The Byzantines had had a republic for nearly a century, and a Commonwealth for centuries longer. The Germans had an imperial rump state with a Scottish queen and vague notions of ‘British liberty’, grafted onto a feudal apparatus seized from the French, Scandinavians, Poles, et al.— followed by decades of bourgeois dictatorship, in which even the frail institutions of nascent Habsburg democracy degenerated into…” etc., etc.) Müller has delayed the creation of a communal republic, election of an Ekklesia, etc. “Until the revolutionary emergency passes.” (i.e., probably never. I wasn’t born yesterday.)
They are still the only other communist power of any significance, and the Paladini government has convinced the Communist International to recognize them with open arms. I agree, frankly— if we can enjoy a fruitful alliance with Britain without compromising ourselves, then surely we can embrace a slightly different strand of communism for the sake of establishing a triple entente of European Great Powers as guaranteers of perpetual peace on the Continent.
Moreover, the success of a communist revolution— whatever its specific form— in the nation perhaps most hostile to the International will likely motivate our comrades all over the world.
14
Evgenia,
So, basically, the Victorian League is back together in the most idiotic way possible. A communist republic, a communist dictatorship, and good ol’ Queen Victoria III von Habsburg, still clinging to life somehow. The cycle of stupidity is complete.
Paladini’s out, by the way. I mean you know that already, you get the papers in Berlin. But I’m just used to telling you pretty much everything I see.
New fellow fancies himself a great reformer. I’m not really sure what’s even left to reform at this point, besides his (admittedly fantastic) moustache. And he’s Bulgarian! He is Bulgarian and he is literally named ‘Bogomil’. I’ll say this for the Commune, you probably wouldn’t have seen that happen under the old Republic.
Bogomil Milenov, third Tribune of the Grand Secretariat of the Byzantine Commune
Inaugurated September 22nd, 1899
The Labour Party
Most of the Schwarzwasser have fallen in with Müller, I gather. I guess they didn’t pay the grunts too well. Some of them fled to join the pangalist rebels in Hungary— but I guess this time around they’re going to try letting people vote so maybe it will be less of a shit show than Germany.
P.A.
Philomon,
Müller has finished assessing the assets he’s seized from Krupp, and used them to rebuild and modernize the shipbuilding facilities in Kiel. The Howaldtswerke AG and Vulcan-Werke Hamburg AG shipyards in Hamburg were damaged quite heavily in the revolution, apparently.
This was immediately followed by a large counterrevolutionary uprising. I, unfortunately, have very little information about the rebels— the Intelligence Secretariat’s network was built to infiltrate Goethe’s NGF, and we haven’t got a handle on Müller’s, yet. Milenov has decided to help our comrades perserve their communist state, of course.
Müller has characterized the opposing forces as Pangalist extremists who secreted away private assets to retain the services of some of the remaining Schwarzwasser forces. I suppose we have no reason to doubt him— the Byzantine Commune saw its own share of Pangalist counterrevolutions.
Certainly, the forces of counterrevolution are on the move.
Even the British had to put down a reactionary revolt— apparently, some hard-liners thought that Queen Victoria should have declared herself Kaiserin of Germany after Goethe was lost at sea and established a personal union between Great Britain and the old Habsburg monarchy.
The British military politely radioed to the passing Ostia Home Fleet that they did not need Byzantine assistance putting down the revolt, and that they could proceed to Germany.
And so the Red Guards fought the war against the hated German Pangalists they’d been preparing for since the foundation of the Commune.
It was a less difficult campaign than they had assumed.
14
Evgenia,
Did you know that the entire Foreign Secretariat of the Byzantine Commune is being run by a secret Masonic conspiracy?
This is exactly the kind of disreputable libel you’d see in a pre-revolutionary old Republic newspaper. I love it. I almost feel like I’m home.
And then I read about how Byzantine Red Guards and their German comrades cornered the last pocket of “anarcho-“liberal resistance in Straßburg and destroyed them, defending socialism from counterrevolutionary elements, and I’m all like, wait, no, everything is still totally fucked, forever.
Everyone’s talking about the “Rheinland Legion” so much you’d think they’d single-handedly overthrown Goethe and installed communism themselves. And not, you know, the wrath of a vengeful Poseiden.
At least the new Volksarmee is a reliable and professional fighting force in its own right.
P.A.
Philomon,
Exciting news! The Ming Empire’s let Qiu Zhichao out of jail! He’s been in there since 1875!
Yes, yes, I know what you’ll say— “Humbug! Those Chinese liberals shall soon learn what happens to liberals who give the unions a free hand— revolution, terror, &c.!” (This is exactly how you write, I’m sure.) But please also consider that Qiu was an inspiration and a mentor to all of us who lived through the early days of the Athens Commune— his letters and correspondence gave us hope and direction. So perhaps out of your friendship with me, you can permit yourself to feel happy for the good fortune of another friend of mine.
I tried to convince Müller to loosen his grip on the reins of power a bit my making an analogy to the success our General Staff has seen in delegating authority to its constituent syndicates when appropriate. He seemed unconvinced. The Staatsrat’s proceedings are closed, but I am starting to suspect he is the only voting member. The German word “Staatsrat” means both “council of state” and a member of such a council. I feel that is worth noting at this point, although it is absolutely no significance, probably.
Perhaps I’m being unfair— certainly, he has legitimate cause for concern. I remember how difficult it was to turn the Byzantine Commune into something permanent, something that (thankfully) was able to outlive my tenure as tribune. The NGF remains surrounded by nations that remember a time when there was no North German state at all— the interregnum between the execution of Branwen von Habsburg and the ‘restoration’ of the HRE in Berlin and its environs.
Can one blame Müller for a certain degree of paranoia? Well, probably.
At least we were not alone in embracing the principles of communal republicanism. The old republic’s ex-colonies were thriving, and creating new philosophies and schools of thought of their own— which, in turn, enriched the International as a whole.
14
Evgenia,
The Germans have a few good ideas of their own.
Anyway, Europe remains beset with revolution! First Goethe overthrows the Habsburgs, then you overthrow the old Republic, then the Jacobins overthrow Élisabeth de Valois-Vexin, then the ocean overthrows Goethe and Müller overthrows Krupp— and now, in Great Britain, the most shocking revolution of all— the Tories lost an election. Out goes Montagu, in comes MacDouglas. Victoria III: Still right where we left her.
Edward MacDouglas, Prime Minister of Great Britain; Victoria III Moibeal von Habsburg, Queen of the British
I’m sure you’ve heard we were, somehow, first to the Pole— after two entire Byzantine expeditions vanished without a trace— my feelings are mixed. Can’t help but feel sad the old tricolor isn’t fluttering from the top of the earth. At least it’s not some Roman flag with a fucking eagle on it, though.
Sometimes I feel like the color is bleeding out of the world.
Farewell to red fezes, then. Looks like from here on out, we’re fighting every war dressed like we’re the away team and we just slid through the dirt to home.
Speaking of baseball, though, holy shit. As the Commissioner of the European Baseball League, I am supposed to be completely impartial, and any personal stake I had the Thessaloniki Athletics was severed long ago [by you], but— holy fucking shit.
I’ve decided that every player on the European Classic’s winning team gets a new automobile. Because why the fuck not? We’re drowning in silver.
P.A.
Philomon,
Indeed! Why the ‘fuck’ not? Byzantine industry is currently the world’s leading and only producer of literal flying machines, so I think we can handle production of a few horseless carriages (so you can say you’ve finally lived to see your long-awaited victory over your most hated enemy, the horse).
Sometimes I wish the worst of my problems were managing relations with the unions of a baseball league.
On January 15th, 1901, the British spotted a brilliant comet soaring above the home islands.
Exactly one week later, Victoria III Moibeal von Habsburg was dead. The Foreign Secretariat is tying itself in knots trying to figure out a protocol for Byzantine representatives to follow at a funeral and then at the coronation of her daughter, Victoria Adelaide. The old Republic never had to figure this out, since Victoria III reigned for nearly its entire duration (and nobody felt inclined to attend the funeral of her disgraced predecessor). I believe the plan is to salute the new Queen, in her capacity as (honorary, this isn’t the Roman Empire) commander in chief of the British military; acknowledging the rank of a foreign military leader being a way of showing deference without being seen to kowtow to a monarch.
We can all hardly believe it. We had sort of assumed Victoria would just stick around forever. It feels like the end of an era.
Victoria IV Adelaide von Habsburg, Queen of the British
It quite overshadowed the Ekklesia elections in the news, I’m told.
Eventually, though, Tribune Milenov’s fulfillment of his promises of great reform managed to command the attention of the Byzantine commentariat.
(Meanwhile, the French adopted the enlightened liberal reform that it is generally inappropriate to punish convicts by sending them to a minuscule speck of an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. We once again welcome the French to the year 1810 and hope they enjoy their stay as they sample the prior century’s revolutions.)
Müller has been frustrated by the state of German industry, which was horrifically mismanaged under the old regime. (Certainly, it’s in a worst state that I found ours in, the Crash of ’83 notwithstanding) They possess one of the strongers militaries in the world, but their industrial capacity is barely ahead of Anacaona— which has become a power of note in spite of remaining a colonial dominion of the Ayiti Federation.
I’m told Anacaona is a frequent destination for those who finally grow tired of the wars and terror of Europe and seek a simpler life in the Avalons. Presumably, they all work themselves to death in some homestead somewhere, or a bourgeois-owned assembly line.
Labour remains the leading member of the Labour—Irenicist—Athens Commune coalition. I suppose Paladini and Milenov have done well enough for themselves.
14
Evegnia,
They found the remains of the camp left by the old Republic’s Botanical Expedition to Africa (you know, the one The Athenian denounced as an imperialist plot to reconnoiter future colonial conquests). Guess after the Revolution everyone just… forgot about them. Okay, I had too, but I don’t work in the government.
Rest in fucking pieces.
I’m starting to realize that the reason the Commune’s still around is that the Byzantine peoples actually want it too. Like they’re voting socialists and communists in in, like, real elections and stuff. This is probably self-evident to you, since you were yapping about the Mandate of the People from the second the balloon went up for the General Strike, but you know me— let me be a little surprised. Surprised that everyone besides me is a big dumb idiot.
Can you fucking believe Victoria IV’s already dead? A glorious eight month reign. They’re really burning through Victorias now, aren’t they? I guess since Victoria III lived to the age of ten thousand years there’s a bit of a backlog.
Victoria V Maud von Habsburg, Queen of the British
Great job defending the Lithuanian Republic you stole from our sphere of influence, Comrade Müller. Jesus. I can’t believe the Russians have actually won a war.
I suppose the New Victorian League (I know it’s not actually called that) is content to just sit around building up their fleets-in-being. I mean, fair enough. It’s a deterrent. If some other Great Power wants to start some shit, they’ll see how many dreadnoughts we have, and how many Victoria, Jr. has, and how many Müller has (no doubt crewed by hunks), and be all like, ok, starting the Great War isn’t such a great idea, let’s just cool off and let the diplomats talk.
It certainly is a lot of dreadnoughts they’re building. A single tear rolls down my cheek for the profits that could have been made, if building warships was still something done for profit in the Byzantine Commune.
P.A.
Philomon,
In truth, I am not sure just how attainable a permanent general peace in Europe is, even with our Triple Alliance. As you’ve observed, there has been conflict on the periphery— witness Poland’s current borders; witness the Russian invasion of Lithuania.
Ever time a new issue arrises between the great powers, I hold my breath and wait for the hiratine’s blade to fall—
—and so far, it never has. Diplomacy prevails. The weapons of war we have all amassed still seem to make war too terrible to wage.
It is a disturbing kind of peace, and one I worry might not withstand potentially destabilizing influences in politics.
More destabilizing than international communist revolution, I mean.
I have to admit I expected the Labour Party to backslide in their old ways— but they have done an admirable job continuing to further the cause of the Byzantine worker.
Even the capitalists look on our prosperous industrial economy with envy.
And some choose to embrace our ideas (or, perhaps, Müller’s ideas about our ideas) whole-heartedly.
Our culture flourishes. I’m told Victoria V herself has one of Meryem’s paintings hanging in her palace. Women in bourgeois countries are beginning to cut their hair short— the corset is on the verge of vanishing into the milliner’s nightmare from whence it emerged.
Müller is training the next generation of revolutionaries. “To carry forward the cause of the proletariat.”
And as his state recovers the resources and influence lost in the chaos of the collapse of Goethe’s regime, the whole Internationale is strengthened.
The most potent enemies of the revolution— the Pangalists— are on the run.
China seems content to carefully guard what they already have, and observe the armies of their rivals in action, rather than press their advantage further.
Victory comes easily against the secondary powers who attempt to overthrow ourselves or our allies.
And, as ever, conflict between the Great Powers themselves remains largely through indirect means. Nobody wants their nation to become the France of the 1900s.
Indeed, we are often able to find genuinely common ground. Witness the Triple Alliance. Witness our amicable relations with our socialist brothers and sisters in the Ayiti Federation.
New technologies tie our world together as never before— Byzantines sit in movie-houses throughout the Commune and see sights and sounds from elsewhere in our beautiful world in ways their grandparents could scarcely dream of.
But I worry there is something terrible lurking over the horizon, just out of sight, ready to reveal our shining Commune as nothing more than a castle in the sky.
14
WORLD MAP, 1905
BASEBALL, 1896-1904
