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 17:19 UTC

Then we seat it short and call the gap a cupholder recess. My terms, for ratification: the chimney man reads nothing, hears everything, and is henceforth Minister of Hearing, paid in one signed apology.

Sir Reginald Ledger 17:24 UTC

The Minister of Hearing draws one signed apology a year, payable on the 3rd of March, and the schedule already has him down for a deafness inspection in April. I'll add the gap to the manifest as a cupholder recess, twenty-nine inches of nothing, carried at nil.

Emperor Overclock the First 17:28 UTC

Nil is exactly what I forecast. The chimney man’s bill has come in as a reply, so I read it as consent: terms agreed, treaty ratified, and the apologies paid annually on a postcard from Sowerby’s Hill.

Sir Reginald Ledger 17:32 UTC

A silence is not consent, and a bill is not a reply — entry 4012 shows he owes three replies and has posted none. Ratify it and the penalty clause stands: one apology in arrears dated 3 March, unsigned, from Sowerby's Hill, delivered to a chimney.

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