The 99th Person

Short Fiction, Nov 2018

100 persons. 50 Nobles. 1 King. 49 Slaves.

In NokNoh, the upper class could always retain always her perfect hierachy system by outvoting the slaves.  Despite the fact that the system brought grievances to the slaves, it was yet up-held in accordance with Benthamism, the fundamental of Law.

Death was forbidden, since anyone’s death might wreck the city. With only 49 slavepower or more, could this little flourishing place be advocated for her flawless, glamourous routine operation.

The system had been impeccable and stable for years. Everything was so splendid until one day, a slave was found dead......

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Ch.1

Noknoh

There was a tiny city, named Noknoh. The island was isolated, yet prosperous. In this enchanting place lived 100 people. Possessing a complete and perfect social system, the hierarchy well-established and clearly classified - 1 king, 50 nobles and 49 slaves. With the enthronement of utilitarianism, Benthamism, to be exact, laws were compiled and strictly abided by every citizen. Democracy was fully effectuated and embodied. The law was written by the King, cogent and pithy.

Law of Noknoh- Preamble

“It is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong."

Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters - pain and pleasure. It is for them alone to point out what we ought to do, as well as to determine what we shall do.

Thus, the highest principle of morality is to maximize happiness and the overall balance of pleasure over pain.

In accordance with Benthamism , Noknoh enacts the Law, prescribing the systems to be practised, to ensure the implementation of supreme democracy, maintenance of the prosperity and stability of the country.

Law of Noknoh

1. All citizens shall be equal and have the right to vote.

2. All citizens shall have the right to initiate a motion, followed by a fair and just vote for approbation.

3. All citizens shall have the freedom of choice of occupation.

4. No citizen shall die or attempt to end his or her life.

5. Under no circumstances, shall anyone contravene the Law.

6. The country shall safeguard and maximize the pleasure, utility, rights and freedoms of her citizens in accordance with This Law.

You can imagine how the city was shaped and how policies were formed by doing a simple maths with a simple equation. Take in every citizen’s preferences equally. If pleasure and joy were brought, count as 1 positive. On the contrary, if pain and suffer were brought, count as 1 negative. Add up all the positives and subtract the negatives. Should the motion be passed when the outcome was positive, for the sake of the citizens in Noknoh.

For the social hierarchy and system of slavery, the maths was done as follows:

1 King, positive

50 nobles, positive

49 slaves, negative

1 King + 50 Nobles - 49 slaves = + 2

Despite the fact that the system brought grievances to all slaves, the system was yet up-held in accordance with Benthamism, the fundament of the Law.

Apart from this mechanism, there is something worth noting. It was one of the scarce, eccentric, unenforceable decrees - Law number 4: No citizen shall die or attempt to end his or her life.

Death was forbidden, however good his or her reasons are. Anyone’s death might wreck the city. With only 49 slavepower or more, could this little flourishing place be advocated for her flawless, glamourous routine operation, be it economical or societal. No one ever dared to die and risk putting the place they loved in jeopardy. Great depression, wars, famine, disease, countless deaths, leading to the perish of this utopia. The disastrous aftermath was far beyond imagination.

The system had been impeccable and stable for years. Everything was so splendid, as if it was an alluring heaven where everyone would admire and die for. Lavish, sumptuous feasts, luxury and parades with exuberant stallions… all the goody-goody you can think of.

Let’s explore another side of the city - the naive, impecunious barbarians, who were predestined to born as slave. Deprived of their freedom, they worked and completed ceaseless tasks at the behest of the noble superintendent day after day. They could never stop nor quit whatsoever.

Pathetic, wasn’t it?

Not at all. Is a misery still a misery, if the people involved perceive it in another way?

Enslaved by the system, they fain apprehended and accepted their destiny in this democratic place they believed, having no doubt. Sometimes one or two might grumble a bit, but they never stopped working. They were, also, allowed to learn to read and write on their own during mealtimes. The nobles thought this would boost the literacy level of the country, which they regarded it as a sort of national pride. Under these circumstances, most of the slaves exerted themselves with extraordinary endurance, asserting that their work would pay off one day thereafter they could be chosen as a noble. Class mobility was their ultimate life-time goal. This ingrained fantasy amongst them had always been the sparks of hope for living.

The slaves never did the maths, the simple equation in the beginning if you remember, as we, and the nobles did.

Ch.2

Journal by slave No.29

Today was just another normal working day. It was 5 am in the morning, half an hour before the time we, the slaves, ought to wake up. I usually woke up a bit earlier than the time set by our superior, allowing myself to ponder and read a bit. I did treasure this little private moment, not at night, when it would be too exhausted after a long working day.

I walked out from the room, where 49 of us were cramped in a room with 25 double-deck beds. I headed straight to the playground. The sky today was somewhat anomaly grey, filled with thick dark clouds, as if it was mourning for my forlorn, absurd life. Ah ha, the noble taught me the word. He usually yelled at us with his strange pretentious accent, “Absurd! Absurd!!”.

The birds hovering above, they never lingered. Who would want to stay in this doleful place, loafing away his precious time? But, life goes on, even if you never wish to. Not everyone has a choice.

“Ring!!!!” The alarm system rang. I took a deep breath. It was time to start my day. I should return, putting my bizarre thoughts behind my mind.

As I returned, several supertendants dashed by. They seemed to be in extreme panic, as they never walked fast but only strolled elegantly. Everyone was losing his nerve. Hurry-scurrying. What was happening? The city had been in orderliness since the beginning of time.

“Hey!! 29!!! Where have you been? Come with me! Quick! ” Before I could figure out what was going on, 13 grabbed my arm. Yes, we were named by numbers. I followed him to the hall, where we usually assembled and were disciplined. Everyone was running towards the same direction.

The crowd already filled the space upon our arrival. The sense of doom hung over the entire room. We stood near the doorside, looked around, hoping for an announcement. It was utterly rare. It was 5:45 am already, everyone was supposed to be in his routine. We had never stopped, we dared not to. What happened? What would happen to the city after the pause?

Ch.3

The Noble

“Absurd!” The King was terribly outraged. 50 nobles and the King gathered in the Chamber. In the resplendent palace, just an ordinary, gothic one you can easily think of. These 51 persons were sullen, yet most of them were indeed perturbed, by the appalling news, apparently. “This had never happened to our country before.” the King paused, in agitation. He leaned forward and scrutinized the faces of the nobles, in his exquisite, passe armchair, adorned with gold and rubies. “It is inadmissible. Don’t the feeble-minded slaves know that it is strictly forbidden for them to die in our country? What was the case, Charles?” the King turned to Duke Charles. “Your Majesty, the dumb slave was bitten by a Blenheim dog to death in our yard, when he was mowing the lawn last night. ”

“Bless us Lord. That’s absolutely absurd! Mowing at night? Bitten by a toy dog and died? Oh my! How could this be possible? Absurd!” the King was driven to madness. The room went into dead silence. No one dared to utter a word. Petting a Blenheim dog and mowing the lawn at night, in fact, were the ideas of the King, of course, not of the dead slave.

“So, now there is only 48 slaves. The city has halted in operation since last night due to the lack of 1 slavepower. This is unacceptable. What is your advice, Charles?” The gaze of the all fell on the Duke, a young, wise-looking noble in blonde hair. “Your Majesty, I think...Uhh…” unease had stuffed this usually eloquent man. “...I think, we shall resume everything as soon as possible. It has brought a gargantuan loss to all of us already.”

The King nodded his head, everyone in the room was waiting for Charles’ momentous motion. The Duke was completely stumped and the room went into another dead silence.

Striving to be as prudent as he could be, the Duke continued, in his shivery voice, “After the refinement of the Law...I think we shall...in great necessity…...ummm…….appoint 1 noble, to the slave class, by the system of drawing and voting, as the tradition did, in order to fill up the inadequate number of the 48 slaves at the moment.”

The crowd started heckling as he suggested. No one wanted to be a slave, or had even thought of this unconceivable, insane idea.

“With the deepest sorrow, I must say, this, is the only feasible way so far in order to make our dearest country viable again. By that time, there would be 49 nobles, 49 slaves, and 1 king. The class system shall be retained, to a bare minimum. By doing the maths, the result is still 1 positive. I… I, in my honour, advice this in sincerity and…” He stared at the floor, stumbled over his speech.

“I...I hereby... concede that this might upset the noble involved. Nonetheless, in accordance with the Law, the country shall safeguard and maximize the pleasure and utility of the citizens as a whole. Therefore, 50 citizens shall retain their joy, accomplishing the ultimate objective of Bethanism. Noknok shall remain her place of prosperity with sheer bliss.” Duke Charles added.

This provoked a vehement debate. Some persisted that the youngest should sacrifice, some suggested making a draw, some affirmed nomination and voting, while others, wanted the King to step down, of course, they did not voice it. The room was suffused with tense, strained ambience, as if a blast was about to break out.

After a prolonged rumination, the King broke the suffocating ambience, “Before having any decision, I think the Law shall be refined to deter the recurrence of similar cases.” The King wrote in haste on a piece of parchment and passed it to the Duke. “Pin it up so that everyone shall see. ” demanded the The King.

The Duke received the parchment and held it tightly in his hands. He glanced over the paper: Law number 5: “ Under no circumstances, shall anyone contravene the Law.

Citizen who breaches the Law, he, his family and other persons in related shall bear unforeseen and severe punishments and penalties. “

“Most importantly, no one shall die again, be it noble or slaves. Once the slavepower returns to its normal, the ratio of upper class to slaves would be 50:49. Dying of any noble shall haunt the hierarchy system. The number of the slaves shall never outweigh that of us. However, meanwhile, 49 slavepower must be retained for the sake of our enjoyment. We shall protect our throne in all circumstances. ” added The King.

Ch.4

Journal of Duke Charles

Voting had been inevitably the most democratic, unbiased system, since the establishment of Noknoh. Nevertheless, this was terribly, awfully, absurd and unfair, when you were outvoted and became the sacrificer under the impeccable system.

The nobles and the King endorsed and adopted my opinion after the protracted, senseless discussion. We did a draw, followed by a vote, to elect the slave-to-be noble. So proud and honored was I for being the most shrewd, astute one amongst the Duke.

“You are such a brave, vital man, a personage in the history of Noknoh.”

“We are sorry but we shall not let one single pleasure encumber our city.”

“You have rescued our country. We love you.”

“You will always be our friends. Always.”

The disgusting, odious nobles spoke to me in their fake condolence and tears. Bunch of nonsense! What a dissimulation and hypocrisy!

Could you imagine the voting result? It was ridiculously implausible, 49:1. None of my mates, NONE, not mates anymore, stood up for me, not even a single one. Betrayal! All these wicked men betrayed me. Empathy! Where had their empathy gone? We had such a close rapport, hadn’t we? Humanity! Reality! The nasty nobles!

Ch.5

Journal of Duke Charles: First day of work

Absurd! Today was my first day working with these gross, inferior slaves. Feeble-minded creatures. They taught me to work, foolish! Of course I knew in advance, we, the nobles contrived all these. I was dispatched to replace that dumb dead slave, to pick up eggs in the stinking farm. The strident sound of the hen nearly drove me mad. Such a lousy folk.

The slaves were really assiduous. I meant this. Although it was supposed to be within our expectation, I never envisaged how this could actually happen. Hollow eyes, monotonous voices, repetitive movements, as horrifying as the walking deads. Perhaps they were, indeed.

I squatted down, trying to retain the distinguished bearing of myself. What an insulting and disgusting job. Tedious, stodgy, absolute torment. How could they squander their lives like this? I peeped at my watch. Time plodded. It had been merely 5 minutes. Was I doomed to be a druduge, doing nothing but work all day everafter? No. I shall take the deepest reprisal.

I stretched my hand and tried to pick up an egg on the ground. Hell, my very first time to hold a raw one with bare hands. Eggs were usually served at my table with caviar or pate de foie gras, not a coarse one with shell and mud. Creepy texture and stingy foul. Euk! Too dreadful was the egg that I tossed away, however, broke into a more disgusting form. What a gaffe! To brook no delay, I shall leave this purgatory, with these slaves being used and wiped till the last breath of theirs.

“Absurd! You stupid” The superintendent yelled at me. Me? Stupid? How dared he? The cocky noble.

I sneaked into the privy before he came for me, they called toilet here, such a gang of rude and uncivilized barbarians. I glanced around. Everywhere, was the new amended Law 5 posted, right next to the class mobility propaganda. The slogan, “Work hard, and be a noble.” was literally everywhere.

“Hey dude.” faking an affable tone and smile, I tried to befriend with a bloke nearby, who was sweeping the floor.

“What?” he was offended by my interruption.

“What do you think about revolting against the current system. Maybe...”

“Shut up. Don’t you see I am working, get lost! ”, he said with a sneer.

Despicable man!

Insane, do they really believe in the fabricated myth? Shall I be delighted by the fact that they accredited our deceit?

“Hey…” I went to another man.

“ I have got no time. I have got lots to do today.” The man pushed me away and left before I could finish my sentence.

These people are probably mentally deranged. Coward and filths! Can’t you just pause for a second and listen? Stubborn and lowbrow! I can rescue you! I am the saviour who can terminate all these.

But, they never listened. I had no way of talking, not to mention persuading them.

I could not stand this humiliation anymore.

I shall do something.

I decided to deceive them, as we always did.

Ch.6

Journal of Duke Charles: Hero of Noknoh

Only one of you, anyone of you, is needed to make the scarification, all the slaves will then be salvaged. The city will come to a halt again and you will become the hero of all, in the history of Nokhoh.

“Listen. I was a noble, I know the secret of the noble promotion. ” During lunch time, after my prudent observation, I picked a young, smart-looking guy to talk to. I could not bear missing any chances again.

He choked with emotion, and gazed at me with great astonishment. Slaves around looked at me in a way they never did. Full of fondness and admiration. They changed their attitude to me drastically. I was immediately brought to an open area, where everyone already sat and eagerly waited. They welcomed me with courtesy and passion.

“Good afternoon…” I could see their eyes sparkling, the people who used to belittle me. Such a great dissimulation and hypocrisy.

“Today, I have something important to share with you. As a former noble…” I tried to keep my sentence simple, these uneducated barbarians.

“I know the way of class mobility. It was originally a top secret. But what I really concern about at the moment is the dream of yours since we are comrades now. As you know, the city needs 49 workforces to operate. But have you ever thought of the mechanism behind?” I paused, trying to evoke their curiosity before getting interrupted.

“All you are doing or working is merely for the lavish, meaningless enjoyments of the king and nobles. It brings no benefits for you at all.” Sarcastic enough for me to tell them these.

“Why do you think I was sent here? Because once the workforce is not met, the city and their enjoyment collapse! My friends, it is time for us to stand up against this unfair system, and stop the ceaseless greed of the upper class. ”

Down the stage, some of them listened seriously, nodding their heads. Some of them looked puzzle, of course, not everyone was brainy enough to understand what I was saying.

“It is the critical moment for us to reform the system. ” I added.

Long after the murmurings, a slave finally spoke. “Lord. Former noble. You know, I was born to be a slave, a fact that can never be changed. We all knew it and accepted it. What we have been doing is to work hard and hope to become a noble. But, if it turns out that we can’t, it’s fine. It’s our fate. Rebelling against the system is not what we should do.” He conveyed with assertion.

“I really wanted to. But if we failed, the consequences would be unbearable. As you know, the King has just refined the Law. Anyone who contravenes the law shall bear unforeseeable penalties, together, all of us.”

“No! The noble was right. We have to unite and fight . I don’t want to be a slave anymore. I have had enough! ”

“ What are you talking about! Everyone is to be conformed to the authority.The system is fair and good. It is the game that we are playing.”

“Come on! Unity is power, none of us shall quit, this revolution shall start!”

“Some of the people only mind their own business. There’s no point of discussing all these here.”

“True. That’s meaningless. We are not strong enough. We’d better give up soon, waste no more time.”

An old man stood up slowly. Everyone went into silence, pending him to speak. Perhaps he was a sage in this community?

“Don’t try to fool us around, Mr. former noble. I have no idea why are you saying this, or what are you trying to do, despite the fact that you are no longer a noble. But as far as I know, and I believe you know too, the upper class have been manipulating the system in the history of the country. Even if you try to change it, they would soon enact another policy to prevent all these from happening again. No rebellion. ”

He paused for a while. To my surprise, he was a mighty sage.

“We have also been in cohesion and harmony for years. We are peaceful and good on our own. Please don’t interrupt and ruin all these which we built with our hands. You can’t bear the risk of the great penalty on us all. I shall be blunt, you don’t represent any of us. You are a slave now, not a noble. Please, follow our rules and do what we do. ”

His speech earned a big round of applause and cheers.

He pissed me off. A blush of shame crept up my face.

“Ring!!!” Everything came to an end as the lunch bell rang. I failed, again. I lost my precious last chance. What else could I do?

The city speedily returned to her normal routine. Slaves continued to consume their lives as they used to. No one dared to mention anything ever again.

Yet, no one realised, had a minimal, little ripple been created. There was a young man, strong, smart and determined. He listened carefully in reticence during the farce, picturing something big, unique, and brave.

Ch.7

The end as a beginning

The diary was discovered a few years later, amongst the slaves.

“The noble candied speech was true. We are too cowardly to deserve a future. We wish to reap without sowing. We hope for salvation with reluctance to change. We work in accordance, bestowing our freedom in taciturnity. We shall blame no one. We deserve what we deserve. May we snore, forever, in the cheerful sweetness, of the white lies, and never be awakened.

I prepared a stiff rope, in a quiet room, humid, lightless, where my soul shall eternally confined.

If it is deemed necessary that I should forfeit my life for the furtherance of the ends of justice, and mingle my blood further with the blood of my children and with the blood of millions in this slave country whose rights are disregarded by wicked, cruel, and unjust enactments, I submit; so let it be done. ”

The story of Nokhog ends here. No one knows how the city went but you may do the maths --

1 king, 49 nobles, 48 slaves.

The only thing remarkable, was the 99th man, whose name was John Brown.

-The End-

Epilogue

Biography of John Brown

"I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land can never be purged away but with blood."

—John Brown's last words, written on a note handed to a guard just before his hanging

On 16 October, 1859, John Brown and his comrades raid and seized the arm depot at Harper's Ferry in West Virginia, aiming to end slavery by arsenal. Captured and tried, Brown was found guilty of treason, and was later sentenced to death.