Virilium!

By Julius Anders

SHAKANDA -Welcome to the exotic, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural African "rainbow" kingdom of Shakanda, exclusive home of the world's rarest, most precious resource - Virilium! Do not leave the country before you meet the endearing Duh Duh people. Gaze in awe at the fearsome Black Mamba Mountains but don't

• Language: English
• Publisher: Charisma Books
• Release date: Dec 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9780645274028

Book preview

VIRILIUM!

PART 1

SHAKANDA

CHAPTER 1

For some time now, the virtuous African kingdom of Shakanda had been ruled by its just monarch, King Tsetse the Second. The righteousness of his government was well attested by the fact that, while the majority of the population was of colour, there was also a significant minority of white-skinned citizens, known collectively as whiteys or the White Matriarchy. While these white women enjoyed almost equal rights – such as they were - to their much darker skinned counterparts, the same could not be said of their menfolk. Their fathers, brothers, partners, sons, etc, being white-skinned males, were all, by definition, deemed to be despicable, dangerous, incorrigible misogynists, racists and worse - and were thus constrained accordingly. For instance, they were barred from all public service and political positions, as well as most government contracts.

While government propaganda had it that it was the White Matriarchy quite justifiably keeping their own men down, in their proper place, this was well wide of the truth. In fact, they were discriminated against as a matter of systematic if studiously unacknowledged government policy. This had its origins three or four generations back. It was their grandfathers and great-grandfathers, a comparative handful, though well-armed, who had confronted the vastly more numerous and hitherto undefeated Shakand warrior-machine and fought them to a bloody standstill. Such an outcome could not be forgiven.

King Tsetse was - as depicted in ubiquitous political posters and in all other local media - a caring, selfless and benevolent man. Regrettably the same could not be said of his scheming half-brother, Baadmaan. He was reputed to be forever coveting the throne - not altogether surprisingly, given that he was a few years older than the king, and also better educated. In fact, he held a bona fide Doctorate in Tribal and Identity Studies, from a prestigious left-leaning Australian university. Prior to that he had also properly earned a Master of Science, majoring in Geology, from a top American university. He was a more than competent scholar. Quite appropriately, however, he was ineligible for the throne, as his late mother had been a member of the country’s White Matriarchy. Peerless Shakand ethnic purity was an absolute requirement for a king of the realm. As further testimony to Prince Baadmaan’s deviant wickedness, it was even rumoured that he harboured secret designs to uplift the status of much maligned pale-skinned males. Ghastly beyond utterance!

By far Shakanda’s most valuable resource was its global monopoly on Virilium. This rarest, most precious of all substances on earth possessed the almost magical property of restoring – for about 24 hours per safe dose – quasi youthful sexual potency to ageing or otherwise sexually flagging males. Moreover, studies had shown that women of a certain age could also gain significant – if equally temporary per dose – rejuvenation benefits from regular intake. It was no wonder that Virilium was keenly - nay desperately – sought after, everywhere on the planet.

None, however, were more determined to gain control of this astounding mineral deposit than the Emperor-for-life and Senior Courtiers of the vast, ancient, yet blisteringly modernising Sinovial Empire. The large majority of the teeming population of the empire were also persons of colour – albeit of a much paler shade than those in Shakanda. Accordingly, the Sinovial Empire could not acceptably be described as colonialist or imperialist, even though it was clearly an empire engaged in colonising activities. UNESCO (The United Nations Educational Cultural and Scientific Organisation) – in its usual impartial, even-handed wisdom - had issued a binding decree that such derogatory epithets were forever to be reserved for white-skinned people, whose forebears had engaged in such pursuits, in times past. The only UNESCO sanctioned – indeed mandated – exception to this rule was that these offensive terms must also always be used with reference to Zionists of any colour.

By way of background, the origin of Virilium on earth was now widely agreed to have been an asteroid that had impacted tens of thousands of years ago in the region now occupied by the nation of Shakanda. It was also conjectured that some existing asteroids, in proximity to the planet Mars, may yet contain even larger quantities of this wonder substance. Little wonder then that the race had been on – in great earnest – to get to Mars and its vicinity first!

Senior Sinovial officials had repeatedly tried to enlist good King Tsetse to their cause. However, their levers of persuasion were insufficient. The king was already beholden to despised Western Powers. Above all, courtesy of Virilium, the country was by no means short of foreign currencies. Much of that money, too, passed through the monarch’s hands, and he always made certain that generous amounts stuck there, going no further – except, of course, into sundry discreet foreign bank accounts, lavish residences in various parts of the world, a large yacht moored in Monte Carlo and other similar expenditure for the benefit of his subjects.

Crafty Sinovial courtiers came to a conclusion that Prince Baadmaan was likely to be more receptive. ‘Look’ they put it to him in strict confidence ‘you should be able to convince your brother that accepting a generous gift from Sinovia of a large brand-new international airport as well as massive new port and rail facilities could only be in the best interests of Shakanda. We would not only build but even efficiently operate the new infrastructure, mainly with our own personnel. And the cost to Shakanda – practically nothing … er perhaps just a few years’ guaranteed supply, at no further charge, of you know what, until our gift is written off.’

This proposal was not as outrageous as it might seem, subject to the fine print. The quantity of Virilium per capsule or tablet was actually quite minuscule – well under a milligram (thousandth of a gram). The rest was just buffers and fillers in the medication. A modest quantity of the miracle mineral would go a long way.

Then the Sinovial representatives went in for the clincher. ‘Your Highness, you must be aware that the new facilities, while of course built for peaceful trade and tourism, could also easily accommodate adequate numbers of our finest, most supportive, military equipment and personnel, when their presence is made welcome. Should you, in your gracious wisdom, decide that your nation would be so much better off with a new king, you could certainly count on us. In fact, our military contribution to this new era, even with minimal use of force, would guarantee the initial and continued success of your new venture, should you decide to go ahead.’

Prince Baadmaan had listened politely and remained non-committal, as the Sinovials had expected he would. But he had smiled and had not said no. As far as the Sinovials were concerned, The Game was on!.

To put matters into historical perspective, it has to be understood that, while the Shakandan asteroid had become of interest to science since the closing years of the 20th century - making its carbonaceous contents a lucrative and tightly controlled commodity - the discovery of its unique pharmaceutical properties, and the naming of these as Virilium, were both the work of one remarkable individual, a visitor to the country in the 21st century. Leveraging this first coup, he would progressively become, in every way, one of the most significant persons ever born. His story, so far, will be recounted in Parts 2 and 3 of this chronicle.

CHAPTER 2

While the Shakandan monarch wielded a great deal of political power, his rule was not quite absolute. In particular, the recently established Council of Traditional Custodians also exercised real influence.

The Shakands were, in reality, relative newcomers to the region that had become theirs just a couple of centuries ago. Under their great warrior king, M’Bongo Bone Crusher the First, they had overrun these then sparsely occupied lands, and claimed them as their own. In hindsight, and not without some objective justification, the Shakands now described these events as a noble episode of liberation of the defeated people from their prolonged state of backward torpor. As explained earlier, the Shakands were currently exempt from such negative epithets a colonisers or invaders, let alone occupiers. Shakands refers to the African tribespeople who conquered and unified this part of East Africa, in the 18th century. Shakandans are citizens of the modern, multi-ethnic nation of Shakanda.

The original inhabitants - for the longest time, it was now thought - were other dark-complexioned persons of colour, the Duh Duh people – pronounced Doo Doo. They were remarkable folk, in more ways than one. Probably their most salient feature was the astounding fact that, in tens of thousands of years of unmolested residence on their mineral-rich lands, they had never progressed beyond Stone Age 101. Like all humans, they had a measure of Culture. They had oral language, though they never developed writing. They had their Creation Myths which, of course, were pure fiction and fantasy. However, with due apologies and no offence intended, this is also the case with the corresponding mythologies embedded in all the present-day major religions – with a possible partial exception. This relates to the Kalachakras or Wheel of Time concepts found in Hinduism and Buddhism. While these, too, fall in the category of mysticism rather than science, at least this Mythology contains some echoes of the immensely deep time frameworks, counted in billions (and with respect to the Universe, many billions) of years, that modern science has partly demonstrated, partly estimated as measuring the age of the Universe, and even of our planet and life on it.

As for their Art, in its ancestral forms, it was not on a par with, say, the best of the cave paintings found in late Stone Age Europe. In more recent times, however, with the aid of new materials and the benefit of some acquaintance with the art of more developed nations, their efforts had improved and the best of their output were sought after by primitivist collectors.

In terms of Technology, the Duh Duhs had come up with one original invention - quite early on, it was now surmised. It was a hunting device they called an Aouch. Knotting together a number of short lengths of vegetable fibre, they first formed a kind of compact net or pouch - they never developed more sophisticated methods of net-making, let alone textile weaving. Into this primitive net pouch, they then inserted a stone, at least fist-size, or larger. To this they then attached a sturdy, much longer, length of vegetable fibre. The weapon was now ready for use.

In the proximity of game, they whirled the device round lasso style, then – if the animals had not already been scared off – they let go, let fly in the direction of their prey. Most times, the weapon proved inaccurate and was wide of the mark. Some beasties soon learned to disdainfully stand their ground. A few would even charge, scattering the bold huntsmen in all directions. But this was only the half of it. If not used just so, just right, the heavy stone in the artefact was apt to strike the user a painful blow, sometimes agonisingly on a vulnerable lower region of the hunter’s anatomy, but usually on the face or some other part of the head. At best, this resulted in bruising and cumulative concussion. Loss of consciousness and even skull fractures were not uncommon. Modern era anthropologists have put forward a plausible hypothesis that such prevalent injuries to prime age males, as well as an associated chronic shortage of quality animal protein in the Duh Duh diet, may have been factors in their lack of cultural progress. Legend has it that that the Aouch device had been formulated in ages past, by a Gathering of Wise Elders, in other words by a committee.

From a different present-day perspective, however, others focussed on how little ecological damage the Duh Duhs had inflicted during their long sole tenure on their lands, an outcome greatly to be admired and emulated. These well-meaning folk summarily dismissed the not unlikely possibility that the environment had mainly been safeguarded by the inability of Duh Duh artefacts to make much of an impression on their surroundings, almost no matter what the Duh Duhs did or did not do. Instead, these environmentalists concluded that the Duh Duhs’ ecological benevolence must have stemmed from their deep spiritual connection to the land especially, as well as to the creatures thereon. At first, the Duh Duhs were in equal parts both bemused and much amused by such assertions. Eventually, though, it dawned on them that it could prove to their benefit to endorse them, and ever since they have echoed this now dogma frequently and with great fervour. And it worked a treat to their advantage, just as they had hoped.

A small illustration would be that on extensive tracts of land now restored to the Duh Duhs, and of interest to tourists from all over the world, the use of their legendary Aouch device is now being taught to these visitors – for a reasonable fee – by Duh Duh Elders. Of course, all users are now mandated to wear a sports helmet and a see-through face shield, with additional protective equipment as a popular option. Naturally, the Aouch is now of a more modern design and produced with contemporary materials. As you would expect, they are made by … well, perhaps Duh Duh youngsters keen to honourably carry on traditional crafts of their people? Alas not, in most instances – the youngsters are far more interested in exercising their thumbs on the virtual keyboards of their cell phones/mobile phones. Rather, as you would more realistically expect, the Aouch artefacts are mostly manufactured in the humming factories of the Sinovial Empire.

At first, the conquest of their lands by the Shakands was an unmitigated disaster for the hapless Duh Duhs. One clever way King M’Bongo adopted to rid the lands of surplus Duh Duhs was to sell them off to the Slave Traders. These came in two varieties – the white complexioned ones (at least whitish when they occasionally bothered to wash themselves) who pretended to worship their notionally benevolent deity Iesus; and the somewhat darker hued ones, sporting even longer beards, who were followers of The Prophet. Entire families and clans of the Duh Duh folk were thus sold off, never to see their ancestral homeland again.

Following the recent