First Light of a New Age

Chapter 30: The Gate

Austronesian Empire, Imperial Maharlika, Luzon, Manila, Underground Bunker of Malacanang Palace.

2000, 2, 1st Week, January

The radio chatter and the buzzing of television screens filled the air, creating a tense ambiance. The flashes of light from the television screen lights up the face of the emperor. Upon seeing the things that transpired on the television screen, the emperor Maximo's face turned ashen. Blood, death, and chaos were happening all over his country and his people were suffering. While he, the Emperor of the people, was just sitting ducks at the underground bunker of the Malacanang Palace. Anguish and guilt envelopes the heart of the Emperor Maximo.

But if he were to leave now, he might just as well sacrifice the entire country. After all, his death would mean the downfall of the empire. He hasn't had any heir yet, nor a wife, and his absence would eliminate the only semblance of stability the nation had, leading to the inevitable downfall of the empire.

It would break the country up into multiple warring factions, which were the capitalist, socialist, communist, nationalist, monarchist, national bolsheviks, and numerous other ideologies. These crumbled up and conflicting beliefs, the foundation of the empire, isn't going to last long. The empire was, however, a grand imperial experiment in uniting disparate ideologies, with Emperor Maximo at its core providing stability.

Therefore, it is now the time to establish a grand council of advisors to the emperor. Each seat on the council would be allocated to a leading scholar of the major political and ideological movements. Furthermore, the council would be overseen by representatives of the three major religions of the country.

To appease the three major religions of the country, the emperor would henceforth become a non-sectarian in all forms. Islam, Judaism, and Roman Catholicism would become the national religions, each holding equal status, while the emperor and the future royal family would remain entirely non-sectarian. The government would fund these three major religions, allowing them in their war of intrigue on massing their followers without imperial interference.

Other religions, though not part of the national religious framework, would be closely monitored. Religious freedom would be guaranteed, but practices involving the worship of demons, such as Satanism, would be banned. At first, the punishment of practicing such religion would lead to a month of imprisonment, but with the current situation, the punishment has changed, and anyone caught practicing satanism would be immediately executed by firing squad either by the government or the secret task force from the three major religions.

Anyway, this arrangement was made to be that way so that the dominance of the three national religions will be guaranteed while maintaining a semblance of religious freedom for others.

Meanwhile, the old government system would remain intact. It's just that there will be a grand council of advisors that will be established so that it will appease each political faction without straying too far into one of them. Balance must be maintained towards each warring faction.

Though they may have politically united decades ago, isn't good to say that it's all okay now. After all, there are still those kinds of people who believe that their ideology remains supreme above all.

In these dire times, they must remain united. The country could not afford to be split apart, especially considering the economic fallout that had caused many nations to fall apart. Therefore, Emperor Maximo decided to exercise his monarchical power as the monarch of the nation. Even if he had given much of his civilian executive powers to the people, his voice still reverberates throughout the nation. There are still people who would support him, and he remains the supreme commander of the army, which is why he was able to order the general staff earlier to maintain a semblance of control and stability.