Down south, where the seasons are different and where draining water spins the wrong way round, the Duchess Von Stompi founded a new state. She was to govern the lands from the borders of the Limpopo and the Kunene, to down south where the Atlantic and the Indian Oceans meet. The formation of a new government excited the people. It was a new era to aspire to their hopes and dreams and to overcome the weaknesses of preceding governments as they build a new future.

A people's conference was held to represent the diverse peoples of the Duchy. Although everyone immediately agreed to have the supreme power vested in the court, no one really knew if this decision would meet their interests; history was about to be made. This story is about intense politicking, negotiation, and surprising collaboration to unify a new nation.

THE JETS AND THE VEBS and CONTROL of the UPPER HOUSE

The rumors immediately circulated that the JETS and the VEBS would take the initiative to shape the government of the future. The JETS represented things – all things living and dead, and even things of the mind, like ideas and thoughts. An unfortunate brotherly dispute arose among the JETS. Some JETS came from a lineage of traditional noblemen and governors. They had high expectations of their role in society. Abroad they represented the honor and dignity of the state. They referred to themselves as the suJETS. In reaction the non suJETS then called themselves the oJETS. These oJETS were patient and tolerant, but they lacked status and that competitive spirit of their brothers. There were many oJETS and that demanded recognition. The VEBS in turn had a keen interest in all actions and they had wonderful communication skills.

The court met to decide on who would govern the three main levels of the upper House. Their decision was not unexpected. Given the infighting in the JET camp, the court pronounced the VEBS as the rulers. Having been given full authority, the VEBS immediately passed their first two laws. First, no parliament could ever meet without VEB representation. Second, under extreme circumstances they retained the right to run the kingdom single-handedly. No one else would ever get that privilege. With this law in place, they were now ready to make further pacts to further secure their position, and to engage the other parties.

The JETS refused to participate. Although it was legal for the VEBS to be the only legislators in parliament, they knew it made no sense in the long term. They used the divide-and-rule principle. Rather than reaching out to the JETS, they separately approached the suJETS with quiet diplomacy and offered them the first level of the three main levels in the House. But they had a stipulation – although the VEBS would move back to the second level, only they, the VEBS, were allowed to execute the law. The suJETS accepted the VEB offer. The rift between the suJET and oJET camps became permanent – from now on they were known as the suJETS and the oJETS. With the suJETS on the first level and the VEBS on the second level it appeared like the suJETS were the official rulers. With this pact the oJETS faced the inevitable – if they wanted to have a senior role in the upper House, now was the time to accept third level seating. They did so reluctantly, yet deeply disliked being dominated by their suJET brothers who allowed the law to be executed by the VEBS.

To further encourage the oJETS, a formal agreement was discussed to alternate the first and third level seating every six months between the oJETS and suJETS. But the suJETS had already secretly secured their position through an irreversible pact with the VEBS as their sole representatives. The VEBS would never execute any oJET action within the Duchy. Tensions mounted. The oJETS strongly protested this accord and conflict brewed.

The suJETS hastily joined the VEBS in a surprise court action against the oJETS. Only then did the oJETS learn of the suJET-VEB pact and it seemed like the court was to honor the pact. The oJETS felt dejected, angry and even a little fearful. They were not known as manipulators. They held a meeting with all others who were excluded and the support they got was solid. The suJET-VEB versus OJET case was complex. The judge met with all the parties in her chambers. She presented them with the facts. She told them that this case was difficult. She also told them that her decision would likely leave both sides unhappy. She suggested that they first try to settle the matter out of court. So that is how it happened. After ten days of intense negotiations, the following 5 Principles of the Grand Settlement were announced:
(i) The front seat on the first level of the upper House would receive special recognition. It would be called The Pulpit.  All constituents in the House would have access to The Pulpit.
(ii) Under normal circumstances, the suJETS would be seated at The Pulpit.
(iii) The VEBS would permanently control the second level
(iv) VEBS would control The Pulpit when questioning any session (the session under scrutiny)
(v) The suJETS would have to give the oJETS legal access the first level. (The details of this stipulation will be discussed next).

The 5 Principles of the Grand Settlement was the most important agreement ever in shaping the fundamentals of the Duchy. Everything else done henceforth respected these principles. Peace returned with the firm establishment of the power structure in the state. Although the court was the supreme power in the state, no one ever contested the newly established power base.

THE SESSION UNDER SCRUTINY

The S-V, or maybe I should say, the V-S pact held. Both partners were still nervous about their dominant roles in the House so they kept the power among themselves at all times. For example, if ever the session was in question, then just for that occasion, the suJETS and the VEBS would swap levels; to approve or sometimes disapprove the execution of the law. As a matter of checks and balances the court ruled that if an explanation was ever to be requested, one or sometimes two of its staff members from the Scrutineering Council would be appointed to The Pulpit (on the first level) to govern until the matter was resolved. Some of the prominent Scrutineers were "Die Eerbare Wie" (The Honorable Who), "Madam Hoekom" also known as "Madam Waarom" (Madame Why), "Die Besonderse Menere Waar en Wanneer" (The Eminent Mssrs. Where and When), and "Me Wat" (Ms. What). I offer my sincere apologies if I failed to mention any other noteworthy members.

PASSIVE MONTHS

The suJET–VEB union now was permanent. The VEBS only enacted the wishes of the suJETS. As you already know, with this pact between the suJETS and the VEBS, the oJETS would never rule; so it was easy for the suJETS to play nice and to honor the last of the 5 Principles of the Grand Settlement. The suJETS and oJETS agreed that during the months of recess they would swap levels. But even then the oJETS had to obey suJET-law and the VEBS would continue to exercise dominion over them. The oJETS, with their lack of diplomacy, seemed to accept this to be their fate. They had the appearance of prominence, but sadly though, this served to embarrass them even further. Everyone knew the third positioned suJETS ruled them, and to rub it in the suJETS did not even bother to always be present during a session in the upper House. They knew the VEBS would enforce their will at all times.

THE DAY TO DAY GOVERNMENT

With time the relationship between the suJETS and the oJETS improved and they were not constantly tense. A working relationship emerged. For their part, the VEBS had bigger plans and this harmony between the suJETS and oJETS was just what they needed to move developments into the next phase.
They had planned for things to change again. The VEBS exploited their role as executors of the law. They were already known as being versatile, emotional, and influential. They were already present on every sub-committee and executed every action anywhere in the Duchy. Then one day it dawned on them that in this role they actually held the keys of emotion and time! You are about to find out how cunning and vicious power can be. It was already known that in every session of the House, all those who followed after the VEBS were to fall under their influence and would be bound by their law.

THE VEB'S POWER GRAB OF TIME AND EMOTION

(i) Controlling Time: Using Agents

The VEBS first set their sights to control the future and the past. They contracted with two Agents to help them. Controlling the future came easy. The VEBS got the ominous Agent SAL to temporarily preside on the second level as a "Helping VEB" while they moved to the future of the Duchy to make their influence felt. The ominous Agent SAL was a bad apple, but that will be explained later on. She wanted to be much more than an Agent. To gain control over the past was not that easy though. The VEBS had to negotiate with the stubborn and unsociable Agent HET in order to reign over the dead and the past. Agent HET would also sit as a "Helping VEB" on the second level, and then she also demanded that the VEBS cover their faces with the GE-mask – the Mask of the Past. Agent HET presided over all action in the past, and her quiet friend, Agent WAS presided when there was no action, or as HET called it, "In times of description". It so happened that some VEBS found it fashionable to wear masks. They wanted to wear a mask in everyday life. New ones appeared on the market. The most popular masks were the VER, ONT, BE and HER. A few VEBS even got away in wearing a non Past GE-mask, but they kept a low profile, not to cause any trouble. The grand judge declared that these trendy masked VEBS could enter the past without wearing the additional GE Past Mask as well. It they already had a mask on, they were okay.

(ii) Controlling Emotion: Using Puppets

The VEBS now felt the sensation of real force. They also wanted to control the very emotions of every citizen in the Duchy. For this they hired their own greedy Puppets who would hold their second level seat while they went forth to the ends of the Duchy to enslave the very emotions of their humble subjects. There were four Puppets, named MOET, KAN, WIL and MAG.

(iii) The Ultimate VEB Victory: Controlling Time and Emotion Together

To capture both time and emotion meant the Agents and Puppets had to work together. The arrangement was that the Agents would stay in the House and the particular Puppet of Emotion to join the VEB out in the field, with the VEB always ahead. It was a good plan. Agent SAL accepted, she happily took the desired second level seat and the VEB and Puppet-in-hand went off to subject emotions in the future.

Maybe you could have guessed, but the eerie Agent for the Past, the unsociable Agent HET made this a little more complicated. She detested the Puppets and did not want to work with them. The matter went to the court. To be as consistent as possible with their previous rulings, they came up with a creative solution. They said, "to govern past emotions Agent HET would be relieved of her duty in the House". The Puppet could remain in the second level House seat while the VEB went out into the field. However, because it was the past, the Puppet, now also representing Agent HET, had to wear a Past Mask. Well, GE-masks only fit VEB faces, so the Puppets had to make masks that would fit their own faces. Here is what they looked like: Puppet KAN became KON, Puppet MOET became MOES, Puppet WIL became WOU, and lastly Puppet MAG became MOG. Agent HET's difficulty did not serve her well, and in this case she was silenced.

To smooth over Agent HET's bruised ego, she was invited back, but only for actions that were completed. When the Puppet-VEB collaboration in the past was completed, they asked agent HET to participate, to confirm that the action was formally done. Well, Agent HET deeply disliked these Puppets. She would not sit next to them. So HET would not go into the House while the Puppet was there. Agent HET went out into the field with the VEB and just to show her displeasure of having to work with a Puppet, she went even beyond the VEB, as far away from the Puppet as possible. The VEBS allowed this exception – only Agent HET would be allowed to pass by them.

(iv) The Ominous Agent SAL and TIME

A bizarre thing happened. Remember I told you Agent SAL was a bad apple. Let me explain. As you can already tell, she was not to be messed with – a real pushy lady. She took the VEB's seat when matters of the future were addressed, and she kept her seat even when any of those VEB Puppets of Emotion were around. Agent HET, her counterpart for the past, had issues and got pushed out. So this is how it happened. One day, Agent SAL got curious about the past herself. She wondered, "Why couldn't I go visit the past too?" She thought out loud, "Well, all I have to do is wear a dumb mask and I should be set." She secretly made a mask to fit her face by copying the style of the Puppets. SAL's mask was SOU. Yes, now Agent SOU surprised both the House and the media by entering both the present and the past. Agent SOU stuck with the rules. She wore the mask at all times when she was not representing the future. Initially no one seemed to complain, but when HET found out, there was a real uproar, and the oJETS joined in the law suit. They claimed that only VEBS were supposed to operate in the present, past, and future. This sounded like a legitimate objection. Consequently the court's ruling was, "Agent SOU would not be allowed to represent any actual happenings!" In the present and past, Agent SOU was strictly limited to express things that are not or did not happen. Simply put, SOU could not execute any action but represent things that should or could or might happen.

THE INFIST FUNDAMENTALISTS

In the House there was trouble amongst the VEBS. Some of the VEBS distanced themselves from the VEBS quest for power. They broke away and refused to go along any further with the politicking and manipulation of fellow citizens. They gained support amongst the suJETS and oJETS. This rebellion could have been the first volleys of a civil war, but the main VEB establishment forced the court to stabilize situation. By decree all neutral VEBS and their collaborators were banned from the upper House and given a separate wing in the lower House – an area known as the Infistion. The Infistion was the most distant part of the House and this VEB grouping became the INFISTS. The INFIST VEBS' execution of the law did not go outside of the Infistion. They were guarded at all times. The court dictated the seating arrangement in the Infistion. Two Pages guarded them. Page OM sat at the entry of the wing, followed by any possible Collaborators; then Page TE guarded the INFIST VEB at the end of the wing. The INFIST VEBS were the most distantly seated group in the lower House.

FRIENDS OF THE OJETS – THE MANNER CLAN, MR. PLAISE AND THE TIMOS

You see, the MANNER Clan had really good manners and they were happy to sit anywhere. Mr. PLAISE was just as nice and he too had no worries about status and position. So the MANNER Clan and Mr. PLAISE talked things over and they decided that they would not contest seat one on the third level and the MANNER Clan would take the middle seats because of their numbers. The last seat was kept for Mr. PLAISE since it was his job to figure out where an event was to occur in the Duchy.

Now let's move closer to the real problem on the third level. The TIMOS used to sit right behind the VEBS. That meant they had took seat one on the third level. Actually they had good reasons for sitting there. They regulated a schedule for when what was to take place in the Duchy. They also had to let everybody know exactly when actions had been or would be executed. So, their seating made sense. The problem was, although they had good reasons to claim that seat, the oJETS really did not like to sacrifice 'their seat one' to anyone else on the third level. There was a clear tension between them and the oJETS. Personally I think it is so silly to have a fight about seat one on the third level. First of all, this seat did not offer much gain. Had we been talking about The Pulpit (on the first level) that would have been a different story. Sad how sometimes the contest for the least is often fought the hardest.
We already know the TIMOS sat on seat one followed by the unhappy oJETS and then followed the MANNER Clan, and Mr. PLAISE. These three groups had fairly simplistic jobs and they did not interfere in any other state affairs.

THE FORCE OF DARKNESS

The oJETS called a secret meeting.  Much has been said about the injustice they suffered. Of course they were angry at their suJET cousins who now were their rulers. But most of their anger was reserved for the VEBS, who they felt, should have been subject to both the suJETS and oJETS. In the meeting, the murmurings went on and on. Then unexpectedly a short and quiet guy called NIXUM walked to the front. He got on the table and towered over them all without saying a word. Everybody fell silent. They all sensed NIXUM had something important to say. With a slow deep voice he said. "I have a plan for us." This is what they all needed to hear. There were lots of obvious reasons to grumble, but what were they to do?

NIXUM said, "Let us not try to overthrow our brothers. We already know that might lead to our own suppression and possible banning from the upper House. We have to be smart." He then came up with an incredible plan. He said that they had to enlist the help from friends like Agents or Puppets, just like the VEBS had done to expand their power. He continued, "I have met a strong little band out in the field, known as the CONTRAS." - now the chamber was really quiet. "I had already met with their leader, old NIE. If we were to invite them to join us on our level, they would fight the executive powers of the VEBS whenever we needed them." This was good news. Everybody wanted to hear more.

NIXUM's voice grew louder. "We have to introduce a counter culture, a rebellion. Yes, we will be saying NO!", he shouted. The chamber roared with support. The idea was an instant success and they accepted the CONTRAS' services to negate or to counter any action in the House. This is it. Now the oJETS had the means to fight the VEBS. Through this partnership with the CONTRAS, they could stick it to both the suJETS and the VEBS. Now they could inverse; yes, deny any action the VEBS executed. This was their ultimate victory.  They could deny anything the VEBS could throw at them. Any action, any action with emotion, or any action though time. The VEBS and suJETS planned to crush them. In a rare move, the Duchess herself interceded. She personally took the VEBS to task. The oJETS had not broken any law, they had used peaceable means and the only option for the VEBS was to take them to court. This is what happened.

The panel of judges listened closely to all parties and then met in chambers to deliberate their verdict. Two days later followed the reading of the court's verdict. It stated, "We find the actions of the oJETs within the framework of the constitution. The court declares the act of negation lawful. As requested, a CONTRA would be able to sit in the House. They will be awarded a seat on the third level of the upper House. The court allows a second CONTRA at the far end of the lower House to ensure the negation was impacting all concerned."

The oJETS rejoiced in the streets. They immediately called a private session with the CONTRAS to decide on how to proceed. Old NIE, had it all figured out. He was a forward thinker and maybe caught the oJETS off guard. The oJETS had no counter proposal so old NIE's proposal was accepted. He suggested one of his sons would sit directly after the VEB on seat one to flip the action around. Everybody cheered. This was a great idea. He then suggested that he would personally preside at the end of the House to make sure the negation spanned through the whole House. There were more cheers. Then he showed how carefully he had thought ahead of time. He said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, we have to counter actions, and we have to counter time. We have to counter emotion and we have to counter intention. May I introduce some of my sons who will be designated to take seat one next to the VEB." He presented several of his sons. The most prominent was NIE Jr. who would take the seat one by default.  He also introduced NOOIT (Never), NIKS (Nothing), and NÊRENS (Nowhere), NIEMAND (Nobody), etc. There were a few more, but there was no time to meet them all. The oJETS were so proud of themselves. How wonderful to have control over the VEBS at last.

Part of the plan was for the CONTRAS to have effective control of the Infistion in the lower House. When the CONTRAS were present, NIE Sr. sat on the last bench in the Infistion. The first CONTRA could sit either behind the VEB (or the VEB Agent or Puppet) in the House. If the negation only concerned the Infistion then the first CONTRA could be seated as the first member in the Infistion, directly behind Page OM.

This big plan with the CONTRAS was a victory for the oJETS, but they were not done. Of course they were happy with the new arrangement, but deep down they were still irritated with the fact that ‘others' sat in seat one of the third level. They devised a plan to take seat one back. Their challenge was that with the established rules, the oJETS had to give seat one to either TIMOS or CONTRAS when they were present.

THE PRONS – IN SERVICE OF THE JETS, oJETS AND suJETS

To recapture seat one on the third level, the oJETS got smart. It was fact that CONTRAS and TIMOS has the right to replace them. They contracted with an independent group, the PRONS, to exclusively represent each oJET individually. As part of this contract, as representatives these matched PRONS were called the oJET-PRONS. Initially others in the House did not really know why the oJETS hired these reps. The VEBS were amused when the first oJET representative marched into the House to take seat one on behalf of an oJET. To many in the upper House it was a surprise when the rep marched up to the third level and took seat one, forcing a surprised CONTRA and TIMO to move up. Their story was that they had to sit in seat one because VEBS could not be trusted. Indeed, it was obvious that they were committed to occupy seat one to keep an eye on the VEB in the upper House. This new seating arrangement did not jeopardize nor impact the CONTRAS in any way and maybe wisely they did not question the arrangement. The oJET-PRON would also take the first seat after Page OM in the Infistion, forcing CONTRAS and TIMOS to move up there as well.

Then a funny and surprising thing happened. The suJETS talked among themselves. They had to give it to the oJETS. Not having to sit in the upper House all the time was rather nice. Since they were all JETS, it made sense for them to also seek similar representation. They too wanted a representative in order to rest and be absent without losing face. The PRON agency was happy to deal with any JET, so suJETS could have their own suJET-PRONS if they wanted to. The PRONS arranged for one group to represent the oJETS and another group to represent the suJETS. The suJET PRON would take the suJET seat on the first level when the suJET stayed away.

Now for a final comment about the seating back on the third level. You might have noticed how carefully the third level seating was orchestrated. If the oJETS were the only ones in the upper House, they would sit in seat one. If the TIMOS were present, then they would sit in seat one. And then, if a CONTRA joined the House, they would take seat one. And, if the oJET left the upper House, the oJET-PRON representative would take seat one. An interesting thing about the PRONS, they could represent one JET, many JETS, and they could represent male or female JETS, or they could be gender neutral.

ADDING URGENT MATTERS

In the upper House the suJETS determined the topic for the session. The VEBS handled one topic during a session. It meant that pressing matters simply had to wait their turn. It caused great frustration.  The CONJUNCTORS approached the VEBS with a solution. For years the CONJUNCTORS have been trying to improve the system with their services, but no one listened. Now there was interest. Their idea was to link two sessions into one. That meant one session, two topics. They would be the go-betweens between the topics. The problem they tried to solve was: "How could more than one topic be processed during the same session?" Three CONJUNCTOR partners worked on different parts of the problem and they each had a different solution, otherwise just one person, most likely Sir Uno would have been needed. So, the three partners were Sir Normo, Lord Primo, and Lady Ultima. The plan was to first present the regular topic and then one of the CONJUNCTORS would be seated after the regular topic was done, and then the second topic was addressed. Everybody liked Sir NORMO. His major CONJUNCTORS were EN, WANT, and MAAR. They wanted to keep things simple and normal; not change anything, because that might upset someone. They kept the same seating for both sessions.

Lord Primo and Lady Ultima both felt sorry about the rift that the VEBS exploited in JET circles. The Lord and Lady wanted to bring the suJETS and oJETS back together again, but they had opposite ideas in how to do this. Lord Primo's major CONJUNCTORS were DAAROM, DAARNA, DAN, and TOE. His plan was to pull the VEB up to the front so that the JETS could be together. So, after Lord Primo's CONJUNCTOR sat a VEB, then the suJETS and then the oJET. A background note: Lord Primo and his CONJUNCTORS got their training from the Scrutineering Council. That is where they got the idea of pulling the VEB up next to them. You already know that the same pattern was followed when the topic was under scrutiny.

Lady Ultima's also wanted all the JETS to be together. She did not like the VEBS so she wanted to push them as far away from her as she could. The major Ultima CONJUNCTORS were called DAT, OMDAT, SODAT, and just about anything else that ended with a DAT. Lady Ultima allowed the Members of the Scrutineering Council to become CONJUNCTORS when they were not acting as Scrutineers. That is how WAT, WANNEER, WIE, and other Scrutineers became part-time Ultima CONJUNCTORS. Although she was friends with the Scrutineering Council members, her sympathies were more with the INFIST VEBS. She had the suJETS and oJETS sit together and she made the VEB sit on the third level of the upper House.

THE PULPIT

But what about The Pulpit? Who could take The Pulpit. In theory anyone could. So, since we are talking about the CONJUNCTORS, let's finish their link to The Pulpit. Could any CONJUNCTOR take The Pulpit?  Sir Normo and Lord Primo felt the same way. They were not excited about the idea of taking The PULPIT. Their policy was similar. It would be very unlikely for them to take The Pulpit, but in that event, Sir Uno wanted things to stay the same. Lord Primo wanted the VEB to be pulled to the front. Lady Ultima wanted the VEB go to the end of the topic. But there was still another problem. If the special topic was pulled up to be the first topic, and the second topic was now the main topic and there was no CONJUNCTOR between then, because the CONJUNCTOR took The Pulpit, how would the two topics be linked? True, there was no CONJUNCTOR to do that. The VEBS suggested that they go first. The idea seemed clear. So, from then on, if a CONJUNCTOR was on The Pulpit, the second topic was lead by a VEB.

The other candidates who wanted to take The Pulpit, whether they be TIMOS, CONTRAS or oJET-PRONS would be followed by a VEB. And as it turned out, this was a simple ruling that was used regularly. If the suJET was not the only one on the first level, and someone else took The Pulpit (except for Lady Ultima's CONJUNCTORS) the VEB would move up next to The Pulpit.