Читать книгу Dado Island. The Superstitious Democracy - Саша Кругосветов - Страница 8

The butterflies often explained to the islanders what a really democratic society ought to look like.

Democratic Maidan had a number of different animal and insect associations. One party that was very popular with part of the electorate was the party of moths and butterflies, called ‘Butterflies Appeal’ (BAPL). There were quite a lot of butterflies on Maidan. They were very large, very beautiful and very unusual. The Goliath Butterfly, the largest butterfly on the planet, has a wingspan of 35 centimetres, while the iridescent Urania Butterfly is considered the most beautiful. The butterflies of Dado Island are not just beautiful, but also gifted with a special, absolute understanding of beauty in nature and harmony in society. They often explained to the islanders what a really democratic society ought to look like and how society could be made more harmonious. Their leader was Machaon, a very charming and imposing butterfly. Machaon’s flight was unhurried and his singsong voice gentle.

Many animals of Dado Island discussed in all seriousness whether Machaon should be appointed chairman of the government. But the parliamentary majority decided that Machaon was not charismatic enough and could not personify the population’s dream of a strong hand. We will eat him if need be, until then let him work in the special Fiscal Anti-Monopoly Service (FiAS), a state agency created to counter the monopoly of some animal groups on the unrestricted extermination of insects and rodents, and also in order to collect fines for the treasury. And so FiAs was created. In order to prevent the newly establish agency from overstepping its limits and abusing the powers it had been granted, it was allowed to work with all animal groups except Lizards. The Unimaniacs used to say: FiAs is not for us.