Mephras
09-03-2009, 03:52
As morning dawned in a busy corner of western Avedon, The Purple Pedestal, a popular neighborhood bookstore begun to fill slowly with workers, seemingly drawn by the dim lights inside, where a small group had already begun to open a new shipment of books for the day. Amongst the mountain of boxes of new novels, picture books, and coffee table books, lay a small pre-made display, which had been sent by the publisher to garner increased interest for the new big book. But this particular display was quite unnecessary, as the book which was being advertised, Our Mephras, certainly needed no extra press. The major news channels had been talking nearly twenty four hours a day for weeks now about this book, dubbed by some as the “Book of the Year” and by others as “Book of the Decade.” It seemed that every pundit and demagogue had their own opinion on the book, and needed no encouragement to express their opinions. Billed as “an ambitious plan for the future of an ambitious nation,” Goldenpress Books had been printing round the clock for the release today, creating nearly 400 million copies for the release, yet almost all copies had already been claimed in advance.
As the workers continued to stock the store, making sure that all the books were in their proper place, a small group of people began to congregate in front of the store. Still an hour before official opening, the workers were only somewhat surprised, as popular books had drawn small crowds before. By fifteen minutes before store opening, however, the line had begun to creep around the entire block. The crowd itself was quite diverse, and included many people who hadn’t stopped in a book shop since they had left school. Young, old, upper and lower class, all seemed to want to get their hands on the book, and finally be able to make up their own minds. Waiting for the store to open, some in the crowd lit cigarettes, while others gabbed quickly into their cellphones, speaking of various things and nothing in particular. Some among them peered into the store’s front window in anticipation, looking at the shiny, jacketed books resting on the small shelf below. Others looked at the display, which had recently been set up. Somewhat derivative, it consisted of a large placard showing the name of the book, along with a picture of the author holding the book.
The image was a fairly successful reproduction of Governor Lihong Mian. At 34 years old, he still held his youthful looks, vigor, and charm. Yet far from the inexperienced goof off who had been sent by his half sister to govern the Terre du Sud four years ago, he was now renowned throughout the empire for his success in running the colony. Recently named the most influential Mephrasian under 40 by InVogue magazine, his lax manner had been replaced with an intense attention to detail, and a much coveted work ethic. Terre du Sud had been transformed in a short time from a tropical backwater to one of the richest regions of the empire, all under his careful watch. In the process, he had acquired a fortune of his own, numbering in the tens of billions of dollars. His approval rating was the highest of all government officials, even exceeding that of his half sister. And now with his first book, he had set his eyes on reforming the rest of the nation.
A few minutes later, the doors to the Purple Pedestal would open, and despite the carefully placed ropes and barriers, the horde would file into the store in a generally chaotic manner to receive their books. Once they had all been sold, most would scamper back to their apartments, and with many millions more, perhaps billions within the entire empire, begin to read the distinct vision set out by the younger Mian, a vision that would no doubt command the attention of many in the region very soon.
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On the other side of the city, in the posh Eauzette district, the Booktopia flagship store was abuzz with activity. Various pages, cleaners, security guards, and store workers rushed to and fro, preparing the central lobby for the much anticipated morning guest. Lihong Mian himself was booked to speak at 11:30 am, and tickets were as scarce as the security was plentiful. Apart from the customary pool of journalists, several key government figures and social thinkers had been invited to attend, while many millions more in the nation could watch from home, as all the major television networks had sent crews for coverage. The plan was to have a quick introduction, followed by a reading of excerpts, finishing with a speech, which was no doubt the most anticipated part of the program.
Champagne coolers were being laid out on the white linen tablecloths, and chairs were placed by well dressed if somewhat disinterested serving staff, while a group of men and women in business attire fluttered around the lobby, making sure everything was in order, taking calls from the press, making sure the workers were staying on task, and every so often, waving politely out the front glass atrium to the crowds of reporters, cameramen, and average Joes, all wanting to catch a glimpse of the man of the hour. It was still nearly two hours until the event was to begin, yet store managers still seemed to be in a race against time.
Near the back of the building, a special gate had been promptly assembled, where police and National Guard had been combined to ensure the security of the venue and the surrounding buildings. While Mian was highly popular, there were always chances of incident from the small, but quite possibly powerful dissent. Black sedans, a tell-tale sign of officials, were already beginning to form a line as security personnel meticulously checked every vehicle. So far, most of the attending officials were fairly low level, and the biggest official of them all, the Empress herself, had yet to comment on her half-brother’s media backed power play. Mainly because of this fact, most of the more important figures found it best to stay away, as there was no point in risking losing the favor of Her Royal Highness, as long as she too, was still popular.
Suddenly, the flashing lights of two police cars could be seen reflecting off the steel and glass buildings that surrounded the store, while the sirens echoed through the canyon like streets of central Avedon. Soon, the two police cars, along with the rest of the motorcade of Governor Mian turned the corner and quickly entered the lower level garage which had been reserved for his arrival. The steel security gate slammed quickly after every vehicle had moved through. As every car pulled to a stop, the private security detail of Mian quickly opened their doors and moved towards the large, silver SUV at the center of the motorcade. Yet before they could reach the door, it opened from the inside, and a leather dress shoe, most likely the product of custom made designer from Euphova, slowly stepped onto the newly cleaned pavement. Even in the underground concrete structure, the roars of approval and the bustling of the media could be clearly heard, a wave of noise rising in anticipation of the words of the younger Mian.
As the workers continued to stock the store, making sure that all the books were in their proper place, a small group of people began to congregate in front of the store. Still an hour before official opening, the workers were only somewhat surprised, as popular books had drawn small crowds before. By fifteen minutes before store opening, however, the line had begun to creep around the entire block. The crowd itself was quite diverse, and included many people who hadn’t stopped in a book shop since they had left school. Young, old, upper and lower class, all seemed to want to get their hands on the book, and finally be able to make up their own minds. Waiting for the store to open, some in the crowd lit cigarettes, while others gabbed quickly into their cellphones, speaking of various things and nothing in particular. Some among them peered into the store’s front window in anticipation, looking at the shiny, jacketed books resting on the small shelf below. Others looked at the display, which had recently been set up. Somewhat derivative, it consisted of a large placard showing the name of the book, along with a picture of the author holding the book.
The image was a fairly successful reproduction of Governor Lihong Mian. At 34 years old, he still held his youthful looks, vigor, and charm. Yet far from the inexperienced goof off who had been sent by his half sister to govern the Terre du Sud four years ago, he was now renowned throughout the empire for his success in running the colony. Recently named the most influential Mephrasian under 40 by InVogue magazine, his lax manner had been replaced with an intense attention to detail, and a much coveted work ethic. Terre du Sud had been transformed in a short time from a tropical backwater to one of the richest regions of the empire, all under his careful watch. In the process, he had acquired a fortune of his own, numbering in the tens of billions of dollars. His approval rating was the highest of all government officials, even exceeding that of his half sister. And now with his first book, he had set his eyes on reforming the rest of the nation.
A few minutes later, the doors to the Purple Pedestal would open, and despite the carefully placed ropes and barriers, the horde would file into the store in a generally chaotic manner to receive their books. Once they had all been sold, most would scamper back to their apartments, and with many millions more, perhaps billions within the entire empire, begin to read the distinct vision set out by the younger Mian, a vision that would no doubt command the attention of many in the region very soon.
--------------
On the other side of the city, in the posh Eauzette district, the Booktopia flagship store was abuzz with activity. Various pages, cleaners, security guards, and store workers rushed to and fro, preparing the central lobby for the much anticipated morning guest. Lihong Mian himself was booked to speak at 11:30 am, and tickets were as scarce as the security was plentiful. Apart from the customary pool of journalists, several key government figures and social thinkers had been invited to attend, while many millions more in the nation could watch from home, as all the major television networks had sent crews for coverage. The plan was to have a quick introduction, followed by a reading of excerpts, finishing with a speech, which was no doubt the most anticipated part of the program.
Champagne coolers were being laid out on the white linen tablecloths, and chairs were placed by well dressed if somewhat disinterested serving staff, while a group of men and women in business attire fluttered around the lobby, making sure everything was in order, taking calls from the press, making sure the workers were staying on task, and every so often, waving politely out the front glass atrium to the crowds of reporters, cameramen, and average Joes, all wanting to catch a glimpse of the man of the hour. It was still nearly two hours until the event was to begin, yet store managers still seemed to be in a race against time.
Near the back of the building, a special gate had been promptly assembled, where police and National Guard had been combined to ensure the security of the venue and the surrounding buildings. While Mian was highly popular, there were always chances of incident from the small, but quite possibly powerful dissent. Black sedans, a tell-tale sign of officials, were already beginning to form a line as security personnel meticulously checked every vehicle. So far, most of the attending officials were fairly low level, and the biggest official of them all, the Empress herself, had yet to comment on her half-brother’s media backed power play. Mainly because of this fact, most of the more important figures found it best to stay away, as there was no point in risking losing the favor of Her Royal Highness, as long as she too, was still popular.
Suddenly, the flashing lights of two police cars could be seen reflecting off the steel and glass buildings that surrounded the store, while the sirens echoed through the canyon like streets of central Avedon. Soon, the two police cars, along with the rest of the motorcade of Governor Mian turned the corner and quickly entered the lower level garage which had been reserved for his arrival. The steel security gate slammed quickly after every vehicle had moved through. As every car pulled to a stop, the private security detail of Mian quickly opened their doors and moved towards the large, silver SUV at the center of the motorcade. Yet before they could reach the door, it opened from the inside, and a leather dress shoe, most likely the product of custom made designer from Euphova, slowly stepped onto the newly cleaned pavement. Even in the underground concrete structure, the roars of approval and the bustling of the media could be clearly heard, a wave of noise rising in anticipation of the words of the younger Mian.