The Lost Princess - A 'Selection' spinoff

CHAPTER 37

Lucian hooted with laughter before seeing his mother and Aunt's serious expressions.

"Oh," he said. "You weren't kidding".

"Aren't they like, a conspiracy theory?" Eric asked.

"At once, yes, they were. All of you may want to sit down for this, by the way," Elena said, and all of them sat around her and Elora in a ring.

"About a thousand years back, as you all know, Illea was known as 'The United States of America'. Many of the current kingdoms had different names too. At that point, technology and AI were developing at such a quick pace, that a lot of the countries' culture and heritage were lost. Jobs meant for humans were given to robots and programs," Elora said. "It was at that time, that a group of ten teenagers, from France, China, India which is now known as Hindustan, the USA, Italy, South Africa, Switzerland, the UK, Australia and Germany who decided to change the world".

"They advocated that true development was that with equal growth of culture and technology - not just technology. Global warming was its peak, and political parties that ruled were always filled with corruption. Legislation took too long to make decisions, and the same went for the jury," Elena said.

"Which is why they proposed for a system of monarchs, and made a set of rules that were practically foolproof. With a single decision making authority, rules and laws could be implemented better. They replaced ministers with dukes and duchesses. They created a system were free education would be provided for all," Elora continued.

"The situation in each of those countries became so dire, that a majority of the population agreed with their ideals, and support them. After a period of conflicts, this group of teenagers became the Kings and Queens of their countries, electing others to rule over the remaining countries. The group of these teenagers, the original ones made an agreement to remain allies till the end of time - with their successors following this agreement too. Ofcourse, it has helped that most of those rulers are good people," Elena said. 

"The world became a much better place - technology advanced at a higher level, but so did the promotion of culture and heritage. The monarchs brought back old traditions and made the people proud of their ancestry," Elora said. "But there still was a group of people who wished for only technological advancement".

"The Illuminati," Aurora said.

Her mother nodded at her and continued, "They wished for their lives to be dictated by the AI - they claimed everyone would be treated the same, everything they did would be dictated by the AI. They needn't make any decisions on their own".

"That sounds like brainwashing," Lucian said, wrinkling his nose.

"In a way, yes, it is," his mother said. "Everything would be normalized, and no one would rule. There would be no color except that of black and white. They proposed to practically abide by a machine - trees would be cut, and machines creating oxygen would replace them. They said that everybody would be equal - they would just live. Not have a life or laughter".

"Throughout the centuries, they've been giving minor trouble to each of the original Ten's descendants, but they were mostly able to thwart their plans. They plan for years, before acting, and their population also seems to be increasing. Last century, I think they tried to destroy each and every one of Hindustan's temples, mosques and churches, trying to eliminate every trace of their rich culture. Their plan was to make the people think they were hallucinating, and everything they thought was real was a lie. That they would automatically accept the Illuminati as their supreme power. The cult was nearly destroyed by the then ruler, and the remaining of them fled to another country," Elora said.