Book 4: “Alone Into The Underwyrld!” Page 2
THE BUSINESS OF BORDERTOWN IS BUSINESS
or
THE SECRET TO MY SUCCESS
Greetings, most honored reader!
You once had a leader that promised to put “a chicken in every pot.” Not a bad offering (except for the chicken, of course..). Now we learn a little more of the secret to the Iron Dragon’s success. Is he ruthless?: yes (after all, he started his career as an outlaw who basically forced the Emperor of the most powerful country on the planet at that time to accept him as the leader of a far-flung province and then strove to break from that control: talk about cojones!). Is he cruel? (we won’t even begin to talk about some of the atrocities he committed during his outlaw days, but you can view them HERE). Yet, despite this, though he may not be the most altruistic of personages, the Iron Dragon, along with his fabled strength, was also quite shrewd.
He understood enough that to fight a two- or even three-front war would be impossible (that is a war against the Emperor, other outside powers, say, the Thinker?, and against the people of Bordertown itself). So what did he do? He tried to put a “chicken in every pot,” that is, in the pots of the Bordertowners, and in so doing, won to some extent their loyalty. How did he do that?
Well, that’s where the three personages of today’s transmission come in. As you may recall, honored reader, we first learned of this mysterious company, Golden Ass Enterprises, way back HERE, when Bryan revealed that he had bought stock into the company. It would seem that Dragan (and his son Bryan too) have found how to co-opt the merchant classes to do the bidding of the government. Not the first time that this has happened. By using this company to improve the roads, Dragan looks to improve commerce and trade to Bordertown, allowing for the purchase and sale of more goods. He means to turn Bordertown into a major center of commerce, no doubt hoping that a rising tide will lift all boats, including those of the peasantry.
But isn’t something a little strange about Grublegrab and his company? The sale of stock for public ownership was something unseen in any other part of the Wyrld at this time. Why here in backwater Bordertown? A strange company, one that specializes in stone products and some new, heretofore unseen product, “asphalt.” Who would have such specialized knowledge on such a primitive planet? Who, indeed?
A mystery for next time. Until then, most honored reader,
Cognescentii blessings!
~The Traveller