De Antarctica Errante: On the Drifting of the Eternal Ice (Written in the Style of Caesar’s Commentaries, Book V)

 At the southernmost extremity of the world lies a continent entirely encased in ice of unfathomable thickness. Its coastal regions are inhabited by a peculiar tribe of creatures (penguins) who possess wings yet know not how to fly, and who walk upright in the manner of men. The interior is devoid of all signs of life, governed only by violent winds and eternal winter.

However, according to the reports of those who decipher the records of the stones (geologists), this land was not always the desolate wasteland it is today. By their accounts, the earth is not immovable, but rather moves like giant planks (plates), drifting upon a slow sea much like rafts.

In former times, this Antarctic continent, as a part of a colossal "supercontinent," wandered freely through the temperate regions of the globe. During that era, the climate was far milder than that of Gaul or even Italy. It was a fertile land, thickly covered in giant fern forests and roamed by massive beasts, bearing no resemblance whatsoever to the barren wilderness we behold today. The sun shone upon it in regular measure, and the earth was bountiful.

Yet, driven by a shift in the irresistible forces flowing beneath the foundations of the earth, this immense landmass was eventually severed from the north and began to drift aimlessly southward. As a result of its own wandering, it became isolated at the very bottom of the world. Once it settled at the pole, the ocean currents formed a continuous ring around it, permanently cutting off the warm winds from the north. Thus, imprisoned within a cell of its own making at the end of its wandering, the continent was instantly frozen, and time stood still.

■ Commentary from the Author The "First-rate" authorities rely on the illusion of permanence. They teach us that their power, much like the frozen continent, has always been absolute. But history and geology teach us otherwise. Even the most immovable, massive entities wander, shift, and completely change their nature depending on where the currents take them.

If a tropical jungle can transform into a lifeless block of ice simply by drifting into the wrong system and cutting itself off from the outside winds, what does that say about our own "ministries" and "experts"?

Everything wanders. And any system that chooses isolation to protect its own "Retirement Seats" is destined to freeze over.