AntipodeanSF Issue 321

By Derek McMillan

“The project  involves looking forward in time 200 years to witness the election. We can access the internet of the future,” Tilly began, “I have done a reconnaissance and it seems that elections to the parliament are annual. First, however, I think we need to solicit the opinions of Wolf-Dietrich von Raitenau who has a unique perspective on democracy.

The graveyard of St Sebastian was not a welcoming venue at the best of times and Wolf-Dietrich was as vexed as he always was when he had been snatched from a dream of Salome Alt. Still he agreed to accompany them on this fact-finding mission.

There was still a Queen of England which Wolf-Dietrich thought right and proper. In the pictures, the Queen looked very young. By accessing Google, Tilly was able to ascertain that the Queen the previous year had been a different person and the year before yet another. She had about as much power as the Queen of the May, no matter what some folks say.

Buckingham Palace had  been turned into council flats and one of them was always reserved for the Queen. 

Black Rod had been retired and given a stick to play with. There was no summoning of the commons to the Lords.

“Why is that?” Asked Wolf-Dietrich

“They abolished the House of Lords,” said Xavier.

Wolf-Dietrich just shook his head at that.

“Have you looked at the moon?” asked Tilly.

They looked. It was a waxing gibbous moon and it was green.

“The green is a distant relative of wheat adapted to the lunar conditions. Most of it is under glass and will be harvested. There will be 'Luna Pops' on sale in the shops soon although most of the harvest will go to feed the 50,000-strong population of lunatics. That's what they call themselves,” Tilly insisted. “The rest of the wheat you can see is trying to survive in the lunar atmosphere and contributing to the terraforming of the moon. It will be okay for humans to live on the surface in another hundred years.”

“Now about the election we are here to observe.” Wolf-Dietrich was keen to keep his companions on track.

“There are no news channels. They were continually being disproved on social media so eighty years ago a woman known only as ‘Alice’ developed an application which could create a bot...” Tilly began.

“A bot is...” Xavier interrupted

“I know what a bot is.” said Wolf-Dietrich, somewhat surprisingly.

“Anyway this bot will filter the facts for you according to your own predilections.  I have chosen to focus on this election but there is surprisingly little coverage.”

Tilly added, “This is because there are no political parties.” 

“They were abolished?” asked Wolf-Dietrich with altogether too much relish.

“No .They withered away. There were no careers to be made in politics. The ten MPs only get the average wage of a skilled worker — no expenses. And they can only stand once. Next year a different ten take their place.

“And what do they do?”

“The real decisions are taken by the general public who can promulgate and then vote on propositions. They verify the proposals. Or negate them of course.

“For example?” Wolf-Dietrich asked.

It was Xavier who answered. “They rejected a proposal to limit the number of whales killed in the North Sea.”

“Mind you,” added Tilly, “that was only because it contradicted a recent motion to ban whale fishing altogether which had a larger vote.”

“So all you have told me is this. You have abolished the monarchy and replaced it with a show. You have scrapped the House of Lords and replaced it with nothing. And these ten men...” Wolf-Dietrich thundered.

“Six of them are women,” Tilly interrupted.

“These ten people are just a rubber stamp for the will of the people? You have effectively abolished the state. Where is the chance for a strong leader to emerge in all this mess?”

“You have analysed the situation and concluded that there is no way for autocracy to gain the upper hand?” asked Tilly quietly.

“You could say that,” sensing a trap, Wolf-Dietrich answered cautiously.

“What about a military coup?” asked Xavier.

Wolf-Dietrich's eyes lit up but Tilly had done her homework on this too.

“There was a public inquiry in which it came out that there were more admirals than battleships and more generals than tanks...”

“What are tanks?”

Tilly brought up some pictures and Wolf-Dietrich was fascinated for half an hour with the potential of this battlefield weapon. He briefly imagined himself driving the Bavarians back with a division of tanks.

“Most of the officers were pensioned off. You can still read their blogs complaining that the army is no career for a gentleman these days. Their main complaint is that the officers are now elected for a fixed term and then have to serve in the ranks.”

“That is utterly ludicrous. Officers require specialised skills.”

“And it is from the people with specialised skills that the officers are elected. Regiments regularly send NCOs for training and the officer class is no longer recruited from the 'Hooray Henries'. So the chances of a coup are greatly reduced.”

From the Diary of Wolf-Dietrich von Raitenau

I will be pleased to get back to the old certainties of my life in Salzburg. It was good to spend time with my young friends but the world they showed me seemed horrific. Rank and file soldiers are not fit to take decisions and the common people are not fit to frame referendum questions. 

Of course Tilly is right in saying that they are better educated and better informed than at any time in history and I must put my faith in that. ‘Blessed are the poor’ but being blessed and the recipients of charity is one thing. Putting power in their hands is another!

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About the Author

Derek photo3Derek McMillan is a writer in Durrington in the UK.

His editor is his wife, Angela.

He has written for print and online publications in the UK, USA and Canada.

His latest book is the audio-book with the cheery title "Murder From Beyond the Grave" which is available on eBay.

Check it out.

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Issue Contributors

Meet the Narrators

  • Tim Borella

    tim borellaTim Borella is an Australian author, mainly of short speculative fiction published in anthologies, online and in podcasts.

    He’s also a songwriter, and has been fortunate enough to have spent most of his working life doing something else he loves, flying.

    Tim lives with his wife Georgie in beautiful Far

    ...
  • Sarah Jane Justice

    Sarah Jane Justice 200Sarah Jane Justice is an Adelaide-based fiction writer, poet, musician and spoken word artist.

    Among other achievements, she has performed in the National Finals of the Australian Poetry Slam, released two albums of her original music and seen her poetry

    ...
  • Emma Gill

    Emma Louise GillEmma Louise Gill (she/her) is a British-Australian spec fic writer and consumer of vast amounts of coffee. Brought up on a diet of English lit, she rebelled and now spends her time writing explosive space opera and other fantastical things in

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  • Merri Andrew

    merri andrew 200Merri Andrew writes poetry and short fiction, some of which has appeared in Cordite, Be:longing, Baby Teeth and Islet, among other places.

    She has been a featured artist for the Noted festival, won a Red Room #30in30 daily poetry challenge and was shortlisted for the

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  • Chuck McKenzie

    chuck mckenzie 200Chuck McKenzie was born in 1970, and still spends much of his time there.

    He also runs the YouTube channel 'A Touch of the Terrors', where — as 'Uncle Charles' — he performs readings of his favourite horror tales in a manner that makes most ham actors

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  • Mark English

    mark english 100Mark is an astrophysicist and space scientist who worked on the Cassini/Huygens mission to Saturn. Following this he worked in computer consultancy, engineering, and high energy research (with a stint at the JET Fusion Torus).

    All this science hasn't damped his love of fantasy and science fiction. It has, however, ruined his

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  • Laurie Bell

    lauriebell 2 200

    Laurie Bell lives in Melbourne, Australia and is the author of "The Stones of Power Series" via Wyvern's Peak Publishing: "The Butterfly Stone", "The Tiger's Eye" and "The Crow's Heart" (YA/Fantasy).

    She is also the author of "White Fire" (Sci-Fi) and "The Good, the Bad and the Undecided" (a

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  • Geraldine Borella

    geraldine borella 200Geraldine Borella writes fiction for children, young adults and adults. Her work has been published by Deadset Press, IFWG Publishing, Wombat Books/Rhiza Edge, AHWA/Midnight Echo, Antipodean SF, Shacklebound Books, Black Ink Fiction, Paramour Ink Fiction, House of Loki and Raven & Drake

    ...
  • Alistair Lloyd

    alistair lloyd 200Alistair Lloyd is a Melbourne based writer and narrator who has been consuming good quality science fiction and fantasy most of his life.

    You may find him on Twitter as <@mr_al> and online at <...

  • Marg Essex

    marg essex 200Margaret lives the good life on a small piece of rural New South Wales Australia, with an amazing man, a couple of pets, and several rambunctious wombats.

    She feels so lucky to be a part of the AntiSF team.

    ...

  • Barry Yedvobnick

    barry yedvobnick 200Barry Yedvobnick is a recently retired Biology Professor. He performed molecular biology and genetic research, and taught, at Emory University in Atlanta for 34 years. He is new to fiction writing, and enjoys taking real science a step or two beyond its known boundaries in his

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  • Michelle Walker

    michelle walker32My time at Nambucca Valley Community Radio began back in 2016 after moving into the area from Sydney.

    As a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, I recognised it was definitely God who opened up the pathways for my husband and I to settle in the Valley.

    Within

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  • Carolyn Eccles

    carolyn eccles 100

    Carolyn's work spans devising, performance, theatre-in-education and a collaborative visual art practice.

    She tours children's works to schools nationally with School Performance Tours, is a member of the Bathurst physical theatre ensemble Lingua Franca and one half of darkroom —

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  • Ed Errington

    ed erringtonEd lives with his wife plus a magical assortment of native animals in tropical North Queensland.

    His efforts at wallaby wrangling are without parallel — at least in this universe.

    He enjoys reading and writing science-fiction stories set within intriguing, yet plausible contexts, and invite readers’ “willing suspension of

    ...