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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mark Chance" data-source="post: 5117633" data-attributes="member: 2795">A darker turn:The emperor "causes" the sun to rise. Unfortunately, he's sometimes a late sleeper, and on those mornings when he isn't up early enough to "beckon the sun" steps must be taken to reinforce his vanity. People must pretend that it's still dark by staying in bed, keeping dark shades drawn, et cetera, until the morning bells sound. Folks caught violating these rules are severely punished.There is a monthly lottery. Folks must buy a ticket and have their names inscribed on potsherds or some such thing. At the end of the month, the emperor honors a child by letting him or her pull the winner's name from the pot. Amazingly, due to the blessings of the gods, the emperor wins every month and thus keeps all the money. Of course, it's rigged, and so the honored child (who knows the emperor's name wasn't on the potsherd) is taken away, supposedly to live a life of idyllic peace. Actually, all of the children are imprisoned on barges. Once a barge is full, it is sent out to sea and sunk, thus destroying the evidence.Both of these come from Gabriel Garcia Marquez's frightening [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Autumn-Patriarch-Perennial-Classics/dp/0060932678]The Autumn of the Patriarch[/ame].</blockquote>