Interesting Times

'They say that thousands of years ago a wizard who did not exist took mud and lightning and made soldiers that couldn't die,' said Lord Hong. 'Yes. It's a story, Lord Tang. A story made up by peasants who did not understand what really happened. One Sun Mirror's army just had' - Lord Hong waved a hand vaguely - 'better armour, better discipline. I am not frightened of ghosts and I am certainly not afraid of a legend that probably never existed.'

'Yes, but—'

'Soothsayer!' snapped Lord Hong. The soothsayer, who hadn't been expecting it, gave a start.

'Yes, my lord?'

'How're those entrails coming along?'

'Er - they're about ready, my lord,' said the soothsayer.

The soothsayer was rather worried. This must have been the wrong kind of bird, he told himself. About the only thing the entrails were telling him was that if he got out of this alive he, the soothsayer, might be lucky enough to enjoy a nice chicken dinner. But Lord Hong sounded like a man with the most dangerous kind of impatience.

'And what do they tell you?'

'Er - the future is... the future is...'

Chicken entrails had never looked like this. For a moment he thought they were moving.

'Er... it is uncertain,' he hazarded.

'Be certain,' said Lord Hong. 'Who will win in the morning?'

Shadows flickered across the table.

Something was fluttering around the light.

It looked like an undistinguished yellow moth, with black patterns on its wings.

The soothsayer's precognitive abilities, which were considerably more powerful than he believed, told him: this is not a good time to be a clairvoyant.

On the other hand, there was never a good time to be horribly executed, so...

'Without a shadow of doubt,' he said, 'the enemy will be most emphatically beaten.'

'How can you be so certain?' said Lord McSweeney.

The soothsayer bridled.

'You see this wobbly bit near the kidneys? You want to argue with this green trickly thing? You know all about liver suddenly? All right?'

'So there you are,' said Lord Hong. 'Fate smiles upon us.'

'Even so—' Lord Tang began. 'The men are very—'

'You can tell the men—' Lord Hong began. He stopped. He smiled.

'You can tell the men', he said, 'that there is a huge army of invisible vampire ghosts.'

'What?'

'Yes!' Lord Hong began to stride up and down, snapping his fingers. 'Yes, there is a terrible army of foreign ghosts. And this has so enraged our own ghosts... yes, a thousand generations of our ancestors are riding on the wind to repel this barbaric invasion! The ghosts of the Empire are arising! Millions and millions of them! Even our demons are furious at this intrusion! They will descend like a mist of claws and teeth to -Yes, Lord Sung?'

The warlords were looking at one another nervously.

'Are you sure, Lord Hong?'

Lord Hong's eyes gleamed behind his tiny spectacles.

'Make the necessary proclamations,' he said.

'But only a few hours ago we told the men there were no—'

'Tell them differently!'

'But will they believe that there—'

'They will believe what they are told!' shouted Lord Hong. 'If the enemy thinks his strength lies in deceit, then we will use their deceit against them. Tell the men that behind them will be a billion ghosts of the Empire!'

The other warlords tried to avoid his gaze. No-one was actually going to suggest that your average soldier would not be totally happy with ghosts front and rear, especially given the capriciousness of ghosts.

'Good,' said Lord Hong. He looked down.

'Are you still here?' he said.

'Just clearing up my giblets, my lord!' squealed the soothsayer.

He picked up the remains of his stricken chicken and ran for it.

After all, he told himself as he pelted back home, it's not as though I said whose enemy.

Lord Hong was left alone.

He realized he was shaking. It was probably fury. But perhaps... perhaps things could be turned to his advantage, even so. Barbarians came from outside, and to most people everywhere outside was the same. Yes. The barbarians were a minute detail, easily disposed of, but carefully managed, perhaps, might figure in his overall strategy.

He was breathing heavily, too.

He walked into his private study and shut the door.

He pulled out the key.

He opened the box.

There was a few minutes' silence, except for the rustle of cloth.

Then Lord Hong looked at himself in the mirror.

He'd gone to great lengths to achieve this. He had used several agents, none of whom knew the whole plan. But the Ankh-Morpork tailor had been good at his work and the measurements had been followed exactly. From pointy boots to hose to doublet, cloak and hat with a feather in it, Lord Hong knew he was a perfect Ankh-Morpork gentleman. The cloak was lined with silk.

The clothes felt uncomfortable and touched him in unfamiliar ways, but those were minor details. This was how a man looked in a society that breathed, that moved, that could go somewhere...

He'd walk through the city on that first great day and the people would be silent when they saw their natural leader.

It never crossed his mind that anyone would say, '