It seems to Nadia that a real party is going on. The world will probably end soon.

“No,” says Frantiček the Brave, “there are still eight years.”

What a pleasant young man, and what cheekbones, like a steppe eagle! “Eight years? But then everything is still possible!”

“Yes, everything is possible for this world,” says Frantiček the Brave.

Moralists don't really have beliefs. Sometimes they stumble on one, like on a child's toy left on the carpet. The toy must be put away immediately. And the child reprimanded. Centrism isn't change -- not even incremental change. It is control. Over yourself and the world. Exercise it. Look up at the sky, at the dark shapes of Coalition airships hanging there. Ask yourself: is there something sinister in moralism? And then answer: no. God is in his heaven. Everything is normal on Earth.

YOU - "And what about the liberals? Are they liberals, too?"

STEBAN, THE STUDENT COMMUNIST - "Of course not. The only people who actually call themselves liberals are mouth-foaming reactionaries."

ECHO MAKER - "Basically indistinguishable from fascists. You'd need an x-ray machine to tell the difference."

COALITION WARSHIP ARCHER - "You must understand, when we speak of contingency spreads, we are talking about the most fantastically complex data visualisations human beings are capable of producing, with thousands of events -- from elections and wars to natural disasters or scientific miracles -- and millions of possible outcomes."

COALITION WARSHIP ARCHER - "It may be the case that, under certain scenarios, Revachol is vitally important, as it was during the Coalition landings in '08. It may also be the case in many other equally plausible scenarios that Revachol is simply another once-great city, like countless others throughout history."

REACTION SPEED - Did she... just admit that the Coalition invading Revachol was one of those 'contingencies'?

YOU - "Are you saying the Coalition invasion was one of these 'contingencies'?"

COALITION WARSHIP ARCHER - "No -- well, not quite. The Moralintern never intends to violate another nation's sovereignty. That would be a serious violation of international law..."

IDIOT DOOM SPIRAL - "What we saw was a sight to behold. A beat up police carriage, containing you. Right there on the beach. You revved the engine and screamed at the top of your lungs..."

IDIOT DOOM SPIRAL - "'THE TIME HATH COME.'"

IDIOT DOOM SPIRAL - "So, naturally, being the curious cat I am, I asked what time hath come, to which you replied..."

IDIOT DOOM SPIRAL - "THE TIME HATH COME FOR TEQUILA SUNSET. THE END OF ALL THINGS."

YOU - "You should invest in a youth centre."

MEGA RICH LIGHT-BENDING GUY - "A youth centre, huh? What kind of youth centre?"

CONCEPTUALIZATION - Come on. Tell him what he wants to hear.

YOU - "One dedicated to instilling liberal economic values in children from low-net-worth families."

MEGA RICH LIGHT-BENDING GUY - "Brilliant! Without children who'll be there to buy stuff in the future?"

YOU - "Yes. And if it doesn't work out, we can always re-purpose the centre as a shopping mall or private equity firm."

MEGA RICH LIGHT-BENDING GUY - "When life closes a door, it opens a window, yes? What's the expected return on this?"

YOU - "Highly educated, work-ready, human capital ready to be directed toward any number of your vast interests."

MEGA RICH LIGHT-BENDING GUY - "Very impressive. You've got a natural eye for unusual investment opportunities."

LA FUMÉE, VOL. 1 NO. 4 - According to the SRV's Ministry of Information, the programme has been a tremendous success. Public support stands at 87%, and youth obesity and alcoholism rates are down 12% and 7% respectively.

LOGIC - This is the SRV we're talking about. If you think those are the real numbers there's probably a guy who wants to sell you a bridge in La Cherte.