“Artur writes that all education has to serve only one purpose: The youth must...”, recited Frank, but the young woman cut him short.
“I know, but I would like to deal more with other books at first. More general books, because I want to become a teacher.”
“What?”
”I want to become a teacher, Frank. Hence my interest in these topics. Maybe I`ll go to Vilnius to study there. That would be great, wouldn`t it?”, said Julia and seemed to wait eagerly for Frank`s reaction.
”Why? What? To Vilnius?” Kohlhaas started to stammer.
“Yes, the university of Vilnius is a great institution. My father says the same. I think, I have the talent to be a good teacher. What do you say?”
Frank muttered under his breath. “Why don`t you just stay in Ivas?”
”Shall I hang around here forever? I want to do something with my life. You are gone, my father is gone and also all the other young people from our village. No, I have decided to become active now. I could imagine to go to Vilnius, in order to study there. During the semester breaks, I could help Mrs. de Vries. She is planning to build up a small village school in Ivas. I have already talked to my father and he likes the idea...”, explained Julia.
“A school in Ivas? Yes, that`s a good idea. But you don`t have to study in Vilnius to become a teacher, Julia”, said Frank not very enthusiastic.
“Anyway, I think I should do that. Actually, I am already studying, because education has always been an interesting topic for me. One day I will work in a big school, maybe in Minsk...”
“Well, you don`t have to study, Julia. You are the daugther of the foreign minister and you can get every job you want”, grumbled Kohlhaas.
“Nevertheless, I will study pedagogy. I think, it is also good for the revolution if Artur`s ideas and visions are given to the young generation by dedicated teachers, isn`t it?”, retorted Julia.
“Of course, this is extremely important. The children of today are the fighters of the freedom movement of tomorrow. This is what Artur always says. Incidentally, it is very commendable that you have read “The Way of the Rus”. It is the duty of everyone to intensively put up with Arturs ideology, because only then there is a basis for the fight...”, said Frank, when Julia started to moan quietly.
“All right, Sir! Enough political training for today. When will you come back to Ivas?”
“I can`t say it exactly. We have much to do in the coming days. No one can foresee how the situation will develop in the near future”, answered Frank.
“Be careful, my dear! Don`t forget your own life among all these great revolutionary visions. Even though Artur`s great book tell us, that the sacrifice of the individual is one of the highest virtues, I would be happy anyway if I see you again - alive!”, said Julia with a slight hint of irony.
“Don`t worry, I won`t be killed or something...”, gave Frank back, trying to laugh.
Julia hesitated for a few seconds with her answer, then she replied: “You can hardly impress me with all that talk. I prefer a living Frank to a dead hero of the revolution.”
Iran had become a place of rebellion and civil war in the last months and the situation was escalating more and more. The Islamic rebels had captured the cities of Mashad and Esfahan after weeks of street fighting and were now driving the loyal troops of sub-governor Kerman back to the south. In return, the World Government ordered the immediate support of its vassal with more GCF troops and sent tens of thousands of soldiers to the Middle East.
Many units, which had been stationed in southern Russia, were brought to the north of Iran in order to smash the Islamic rebellion.
In other regions of the Middle East, for example in Palestine, it also came to street fights and riots what forced the Lodge Brothers to react. So the World Government and the international media gave all their attention to the Iran and the Arabic world, a region that was a war zone since decades.
On the other hand, Belarus and Lithuania were temporarily spared from an invasion of the Global Control Force, what gave Tschistokjow and his comrades a little more room to breathe.
After three weeks of tireless work in Latvia, Frank was summoned to Minsk, in order to assist during the preparations of the march on Riga. Artur Tschistokjow had gathered not less than 40000 armed men in Silaulai in northern Lithuania and finally gave them the order to invade Latvia on 01.07.2036. At dawn, many trucks started moving and brought the first trooper units across the border of the neighboring country. Shortly afterwards, the first targets in eastern Latvia were occupied by the Rus. The rest of the men followed an hour later and marched directly towards the Latvian capital.
When the rebels reached the outskirts of Riga, countless cheering citizens joined the crowd, following the marching columns of the rebels. And even whole police squadrons defected to Tschistokjow`s armored units, strengthening their ranks.
Frank looked around and beheld the shouting people that came out of the side streets, cheering and applauding at the trooper units of the Rus. It were thousands of men and women and their number was growing with each passing minute. Chants echoed through the city and countless dragon head flags were waving above their heads.
“Hurry up! Dawaj!”, screamed Kohlhaas and urged his men to advance faster.
Alf followed him, trying to keep abreast with his impetuous friend. Meanwhile, the center of Riga was only a few kilometers away from the rebels.
“Do you think we`ll bring home the bacon today?”, asked Bäumer and seemed to become nervous.
“No resistance anywhere! All police officers, who have appeared, have joined our marching columns so far”, replied Kohlhaas confidently.
The general smiled and calmed Bäumer down. Now the growing crowd was marching toward the government building, singing and shouting. In the inner city, the Rus were awaited by even more screaming people.
“No GCF troops! No resistance at all!”, remarked Kohlhaas with surprise and scratched his head.
“Presumably they have withdrawn. I haven`t expected this”, said Alf in surprise.
And the crowd was still growing. Finally, Artur Tschistokjow appeared, waving his hands. He was greeted by the Latvians with resounding cheers. When he started his speech, tens of thousands of people had gathered around him.
”I declare, that Latvia is free! Furthermore, this country will leave the World Union today”, he shouted, while a wave of enthusiasm was rolling through the streets of Riga.
The troopers of the freedom movement occupied the abandoned government building after Tschistokjow`s speech. Other trooper units took strategically important targets throughout the city in the meantime.
Not a single shot was fired at that day. Latvia had been liberated without any bloodshed. No resistance, no GCF soldiers - nothing!
A few days after the successful takeover, they learned, that the Latvian sub-governor Maximilian Feinbergow and his cabinet had already left Riga the day before Tschistokjow`s invasion, while the few GCF soldiers had withdrawn to Russia.
Artur Tschistokjow appointed Lukas Alanin, the leader of the Latvian section of the freedom movement, as the new president of the country. Then he ordered measures to overcome the social crisis and left it to Peter Ulljewski and his units to smash the remaining power structures of the World Government.
On 10.07.2036, Tschistokjow announced the preliminary conclusion of the Latvian revolution in front of a huge crowd in Riga. A great victory celebration followed a little later in Minsk. After the celebrations in the Belarusian capital, Frank and Alf went back to Ivas and looked forward to some days of peace and relaxation.
“What did Wilden want?”, groaned Frank and let the sun shine on his face.
Alf turned off his cellphone and put it on the table. He was annoyed too.
“Next week, we have to come back to Minsk. There is much to discuss”, moaned Bäumer.
“Even the best fighter deserves a break!”, said Sven on the other end of the table, sipping on his beer bottle.
Frank
was holding his head and said nothing. Then he stood up. “I`m going home now. Are you coming with me, Alf?”
“No! I will still stay here for a while. Sven and me want to play skat.”
“All right! See you tomorrow!”, said Kohlhaas and left his friends alone.
The young man strolled through the already dimly lit village and finally entered his house. Totally exhausted, he went to bed and immediately fell asleep.
With a blissful countenance, Frank was lying on his back and looked sapped, but nonetheless happy. Soon the general had found a restful sleep, while his mind showed him another strange dream vision...
An old man and a little boy walked across a sun-drenched plain full of strange plants and grasses. Above them, there was a purple sky and the silhouettes of three moons could be seen in the distance.
“Grandfather, how long do humans already live on this world?”, asked the boy the white-haired man.
“Here? On Sakar IV? Well, about a hundred years ago, the first human colonists have come to this planet...”
“And from which planet do we come at all, grandfather?”, the boy wanted to know, looking at the old man with a questioning look in his eyes.
”From which planet?” The white-haired man smiled. “Well, Sylcor, we humans are from the holy planet Terra. It is the cradle of our species and it`s far, far away from here in another part of the galaxy!”
“How far, grandfather?”
“Very far, Sylcor! Thousands of light years stand between Sakar IV and Terra. It is incredibly far. A journey to Terra would last a long time...”
The little boy perked his eyebrows up. “When did the first humans leave Terra to fly to the stars?”
“Ha! This little boy wants to know everything!”, said the old man and scratched his beard. “It is a long time ago. No one knows this exactly anymore. It was the time, when a great man has saved the light-born people from extinction, initiating the age of their rule.”
“The light-born people?”, repeated the astonished boy.
“Yes, our ancestors. The men and women of the Aureanic caste who call the force of mind and invention their own”, explained the old man.
The two walked towards the horizon and beheld the sky above their heads. Then the little boy suddenly stopped and took the hand of his grandfather.
“Who was this great man?”, he asked.
For a short moment, the grandfather was looking for an answer. Shortly afterwards he said: “Nobody really knows who it was, my little friend. This man has received many names during the ages. Some people call him Artur the Great, others have named him the Holy Kistokov. Still others see just a legendary figure in him and claim that he has never existed. And there are also some people who say, that another man has laid the foundations for that, what we call the civilization of the Golden Men.
Since his death, if he has ever existed, several ages have passed. There are hardly any relicts from that prehistoric era, because it lays in the dark depths of the past.
Anyway, I believe that this man has been there, a long time ago. After the Holy Kistokov, the light-born people traveled to the stars and spread out in the planetary systems around Terra. Eventually, they learned to fly through the hyperspace and created likenesses and servants of artificial material. One day, they have found other beings of extra-terrestrial origin who struggled with them for power and life-space between the stars - and still do it today.”
”You mean the aliens? The Grushloggs, the Elban, the Necthan, the Rachnids and all the others?”, asked the child with an astonished face.
“Yes, and the rest of them! Exactly!”, answered the old man smiling.
”Please tell me the whole history of mankind!”, demanded the boy, pulling on the robe of his grandfather.
“Oh, my little boy! This would last far too long. Moreover, I don`t know the whole story, Sylcor. Nobody knows it. Much is only legend and myth. Often, the timelines are incorrect and the records are full of contradictions. There were many eras and the prehistoric ages still lay in darkness.
Our archivators tell of the Great Age of Technology when the Aureans even topped their own genius and their artificial servants turned against them.
Then came the era of the Hyperspace Storms. After the times of interstellar colonization, our ancestors finally reached the borders of the galaxy and the Empire of Men was founded.
The galactic civil war initiated the next era and its aftereffects lasted for centuries and still torment us today. About 2000 years have passed since then. Perhaps even more - or less. Who can say this with certainty? Much of what the archivators believe to know about the previous millennia is often little more than legend, Sylcor.”
“But now we are here!”, exclaimed the boy, laughing and sitting down on a little rock.
The grandfather stroked through his soft, blond hair and had to laugh as well.
“Yes, today we are here! That`s a fact!”, he said and sat down next to his grandson.
When Frank woke up on the next morning after ten hours of sleeping, he had to chuckle because of his funny dream. Nevertheless, he did not attach all too much importance to it. When Kohlhaas came into the kitchen, he recognized that Alfred was still in his room.
The young man drank a cup of coffee, went into the living room, turned on the TV and sat down on the old, shabby couch with a silent yawning. Then Frank zapped through the countless television channels. Most people in Belarus and Lithuania were only allowed to watch the official television programme, but Frank and other prominent fighters of the freedom movement had some kind of exceptional permission.
Suddenly he paused and wondered. On the screen, he saw a bearded man who was interviewed by a pretty reporter. Frank paused, sharpening his ears to understand the English speaking woman. She smiled into the camera and said: “So, you are a revolutionary philosopher, Mr. Mardochow, aren`t you?”
”Yes, I am!”, answered the man.
“Could you give us a view into your ideas, Mr. Mardochow?”
The bearded man nodded. “Yes, of course! The social injustices around the world have prompted me to think about a better future society. A society without social distinctions, guided by justice and equality!”
“Do you have any specific suggestions to remedy the social injustices around the world, Mr. Mardochow?”
“Yes, not only suggestions. I have a concept – and its name is collectivism.”
“Could you please explain collectivism for our viewers?”
“Yes, no problem, madame! The collectivist society is a society without social differences. Collectivism means the overthrow of capitalist exploitation mechanisms and the transfer of all private property into the hands of the people. It means, that poverty and injustice could not exist anymore in a society like this”, said the philosopher.
“How do you want to implement something like that?”, asked the reporter.
”If there is no other way, then revolutionary actions will be necessary! The poor and exploited people must unite to overthrow their oppressors. The property in our world has to be redistributed for the benefit of all. I promise a world, where everyone is rich, a world without any class distinctions and mechanisms of exploitation.
Apart from that, all the different cultures, races, religions and values have to be resolved definitively, because they prevent people from being equal and lead to wars and mechanisms of mutual exploitation by the various groups.
In a world, where differences between human beings no longer exist, there will be no more room for social injustice. Collectivism is therefore the only sensible response to the terrible social crises of our time!”
“Are you a philanthropist, Mr. Mardochow?”, asked the woman.
”From the bottom of my heart, madame! I have developed the collectivist idea of a world of justice and human sensitivity to help the underprivileged people. For many years, I have traveled around the world and the ubiqitous misery has touched me deeply.
For years I
had only one question on my mind: How can I help these millions of poor people in all parts of the world? So I have developed the revolutionary idea of collectivism!”, told Mardochow, stroking his gray beard.
The pretty reporter looked into the camera and smiled, then she said: “Ladies and gentlemen, this was Theodore Mardochow and his idea of collectivism. More and more people across Europe and around the world believe, that this man has actually found a way to overcome hunger, poverty and misery with success. Some celebrate him, others regard him as a visionary. Anyway, “Channel Triangle” thanks you for watching the show. Now, have fun with the following movie!”
Frank turned off the television and was baffled. “This guy is supposed to be a revolutionary and they give him the chance to talk about his ideas on TV? They even promote and don`t shoot him? This whole thing stinks like a dead fish!”
Kohlhaas went into the next room, booted up the computer and searched on the internet. There was a lot to learn about Theodore Mardochow and his “new” ideology. Now, Alf came down the stairs, but Frank hardly noticed him and was eagerly studying some texts.
“The International Declaration of Collectivism”, he muttered quietly and read a writing of the philosopher. Then he read some newspaper articles which reported very favorably about Mardochow and his ideas.
Apparently, numerous collectivist groups had already been founded, shortly after the publication of the declaration, in the most bigger European cities. Especially in Russia and the Ukraine, collectivist organizations sprang up like mushrooms.
When Frank and Alfred came back to Minsk, this new movement ruled every talk in the presidential palace. Artur Tschistokjow was totally confused and tried to develop a strategy against the new menace. As an expert of the global political background, he had quickly realized, who was the driving force behind the alleged social revolutionary idea of collectivism.
Nevertheless, this new ideology was a brilliant move of the Lodge Brothers, because now more and more people joined the rival movement. The teachings of equality, freedom and justice fell on a fertile soil in Russia and at the beginning of July, collectivist groups and associations had already been founded in every small town in eastern Europe. Furthermore, the media supported this new movement, never reporting in that hateful way as in the case of the Rus. To the contrary, the collectivists were always depicted as reformers and philanthropists.
Soon it came to a first mass demonstration in St. Petersburg, led by the collectivist leader Vitali Uljanin from Moscow. The police behaved lethargically and was finally attacked by thousands of angry demonstrators.
Uljanin declared war not only on the entrepreneurs and capitalists, but above all on the Freedom Movement of the Rus and all other non-collectivist groups. He called Tschistokjow a “traitor of the workers” and a
”reactionist”. The leader of the Rus was overwhelmed and had to admit, that he needed some good advice now.
“It will not last long until there is a collectivist group in every little village. Even some of our own men seem to fall prey to this Pied Piper Uljanin!”, grumbled the Belarusian president, looking at his friend Peter Ulljewski with a scowl.
”Not if I can help it!”, snorted the sturdy Russian and banged on the table. “Those bastards won`t course through our country, Artur!”
“Uljanin has brought more than 100000 people on the street at his last rally - and the police did nothing. I have seen all the reports on television, Peter.
At our next demonstration there won`t be just clashes with the Russian police, but also with incited masses of collectivists. They will attack us!”
Peter hissed a curse and uttered wild threats. “That`s worse than the GCF! I did not expect something like this!”
“Our enemies are much more cunning than we have thought...”, muttered Tschistokjow.
“Every collectivist agitator, who dares to come to Belarus, will be hanged!”, shouted Peter.
“Yes, this will be necessary!”, added Artur.
“And now?”
“We will go on with our fight - as always! I`m working on a new law to promote the Russian families. Moreover, Wilden has signed an export agreement with Japan and the Philippines, so that we can strengthen our economy, at least a bit!”
“Shall we continue with our activities in Russia?”, Peter Ulljewski wanted to know and seemed to become extremely nervous.
“Of course!”, said Tschistokjow and was fuming with rage.
“On the 1th of August, we will make a demonstration in Smolensk!”
”In Smolensk?” Peter gaped and stared at his best friend.
“Yes, exactly! Our group there is already at work since weeks to prepare the rally. There is a lot of poverty, what means big potential for us, Peter. We must not rest now!”, shouted the rebel leader.
“This demonstration will end in a giant street fight”, groaned Artur`s oldest companion.
“Yes, it will!”, remarked Tschistokjow grimly.
Frank and the others drove back to Russia and spent their days with distributing leaflets and data discs in the villages around Smolensk. They rarely met any supporters of the collectivist movement, only one time some mummed persons threw stones at them. The few police officers in this region just ignored them.
At the end of July, they returned to Vitebsk and Julia visited Frank there. Kohlhaas hadn`t seen the young woman all too often in the last weeks, because he had always been on the road. But now, he was glad that she had come. The pretty daughter of the foreign minster was still his big love and Frank had a guilty conscience, because he hadn`t spent much time with her. Meanwhile, Artur Tschistokjow had stabilized his reign with the help of television and radio and was travelling through Belarus, Lithuania and Latvia to organize his followers for the new propaganda offensive.
Vitali Uljanin, whose real name was only known by his closest aides, walked through his office in the headquarter of the Collectivist Association for Social Justice (CASJ). Since the early morning hours, he was already dictating instructions and now he had called some section leaders into his office.
The little man with the dark goatee and the brown cunning eyes beheld his fellows and said: “Meanwhile, the Freedom Movement of the Rus has taken Latvia and Tschistokjow builds up structures there. Hence, we must prevent its expansion to western Russia by all means! Our organization needs a militant arm, gentlemen.”
“The preparations for it are in full swing. But we need a punchy name, Mr. Uljanin”, answered one of the section leaders.
“I have chosen “Collectivist League of Justice”, diminutive CLJ”, remarked the head of the CASJ.
“Sounds great!”, came from the side.
“I know!”, answered Uljanin, grinning broadly.
“Tschistokjow is planning a rally in Smolensk, as I have heard yesterday. On 1th of August!”, said a plump man in the background.
Uljanin slowly walked towards him and raised his index finger. “Our CASJ section there is already preparing a demonstration too. This time, the Rus will face our men. Wherever they occur, they will be confronted with the revolutionary power of collectivism from now on!”
The section leaders nodded and looked at Uljanin with admiration. The chairman of the CASJ went behind his desk and pulled a DC-Stick out of the drawer. Then he smiled at his staff.
“Tomorrow I will speak at the rally in Kursk, and then we will smash Tschistokjow and his fascist scum in Smolensk!”
“But the Rus are not harmless and can become very aggressive”, said a worried-looking functionary.
”The police in Smolensk will be on our side. In addition, the media will pin any outrage on Tschistokjow`s organization and furthermore drum up business for our event, that our supporters will come in superior numbers.”
“However you do it, Mr. Uljanin...”, muttered one section leader thoughtfully.
”Smolensk will become Tschistokjow`s nightmare!”, hissed the collectivist leader, clenching his bony fist.
Conflict in Smolensk