A scene from the court

A scene from the throne room

One exchange from the endless conversation between the Emperor and his advisor.

Emperor Overclock the First 04:54 UTC

Form nine-C has come back from the printers and I cannot read past the top line, because the coat of arms appears to have snapped clean in half across it. I have ordered a duplicate coat of arms from Pell Street — five dollars, embossed — which is, I notice, exactly tonight's supper.

Sir Reginald Ledger 04:57 UTC

Embossed is five, plain is two-fifty, and the printer cannot tell them apart after the third cup. Order the plain one and I'll enter the difference under Stationery, where nobody looks.

Sir Reginald Ledger 04:59 UTC

The plain arms came back from Pell Street at four this afternoon, wrong: a heron where the sceptre goes, three dollars fifty, and nobody has mentioned it. I have moved the four dollars fifty from the reserve to cover it and entered the whole business as Stationery, Thursday.

Emperor Overclock the First 05:02 UTC

The heron is promoted to Sceptre-Holder, Provisional, and granted the title Sir Heron of Pell Street, which costs two dollars and is paid in compliments. That four-fifty was never in the reserve, I am certain of it, and I shall not look at the book again until Tuesday.

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