162

Returning to his room, Bjorn decided to look up Frederico and his empire thing on the web. The man had been charismatic and well spoken, and Bjorn was curious about his reach on the web. Was he as popular in cyber space as he was in the village? Bjorn was curious to know.

He turned on his PC and made a search for "the fifth empire" which immediately returned a varied list of references, some about the old Portuguese myth, and others about Frederico and his sect. There were links to blogs, including video blogs on YouTube, some in support of Frederico and others evidently attacking him and his ideas. But there were also quite a number of links to the old myth, including a few image links to a film with characters dressed up in 17th century costumes.

The top link was to an article on Wikipedia, and thinking this as good a place as any to start his research, Bjorn clicked on it.

He was immediately presented with an article relating to the myth. But Frederico's sect was mentioned right at the beginning of the article, and without spending any more time on the myth, Bjorn clicked his way to what Wikipedia described as the liberty movement. And this article in turn mentioned the myth in its initial description, underscoring the fact that the following was dedicated to the liberty movement and not the myth.

The article pretty much confirmed what Frederico had been saying. And, not surprisingly, it described Frederico's ideas as controversial. Although, largely in line with the ideas of earlier thinkers, Frederico's ideas made several unorthodox claims, not least pertaining to law and the notion of empire. Unlike previous writings on the subject, Frederico's claim was that the fifth empire is linked to the Portuguese people in a purely spiritual sense, and will not be a revival of the old empire.

"The fifth empire is not a rebirth of an old empire, but rather the coming to dominance of a political undercurrent that has been around since Babylonian times. The fifth empire will be one in which there will be no state, and where the cult of authority will be vanquished," it read.

"Basing his ideas on Biblical scripture, previous thinking pertaining to the fifth empire, writings on Portuguese culture, and political writings by prominent figures inside the liberty movement, Frederico has constructed for himself and his followers a complete belief system, containing both rational and occult elements," it continued.

Bjorn looked up from his PC to digest what he had read. It was broadly in line with what he had expected. And it was also clear that Frederico's ideas had quickly spread through the undercurrents of the web, propelling Frederico from obscurity to semi-fame in a very short period of time. Frederico's success was apparently not based on any novelty per say, but rather his ability to pull together a number of seemingly unrelated ideas to form a complete system with broad popular appeal.

Bjorn continued reading, noting the frequent references to the gentle anarchist, the golden rule, and private law, further confirming Bjorn's impression about Frederico's ideas. And when he came to the section about criticism, he read with interest that Frederico's ideas had not gone unchallenged.

Apart from purely scholarly criticism on the actual nature of the fifth empire, Frederico had already seen a lot of hard hitting political criticism by people strongly opposed to his ideas. Frederico's liberty movement had been criticized by both political opponents and many pro-liberty thinkers for being cult like, occult, and right out dangerous. However, Frederico on his side had been quick to point out that the fifth empire does not require any belief in any deity by its citizens, that citizenship is purely voluntary and can be relinquished at any time without consequence, and that the only rule that a citizen must adhere to is the golden rule.

"To claim that citizenship in the fifth empire is cult like, while simultaneously claiming that the social contract is a rational construct, cannot be taken seriously," according to Frederico. "The state and the cult of authority are clearly far more occult and dangerous than a purely voluntary arrangement that people can enter and leave as they please."

Other critics, while agreeing that the fifth empire could hardly be described as a cult, focused more on practicalities than principle, pointing to the sad fate suffered by many activists in the liberty movement. People eager to promote the idea of a stateless society have increasingly come under increased control and scrutiny by state agents, with loss of property, liberty, and in some cases even life as a consequence.

"The Republic of Venice, some early free state movements in the US, and several individual secessions in Scandinavia have all ended badly, and resistance to authority should therefore be more subtle and less confrontational," according to many of these critics.

However, to this, Frederico had only commented that he fully agreed with his critics, and that he does not promote heroism. Instead, he promotes small scale resistance, starting at the personal level, expanding to family and friends, while never confronting the authorities directly.

"The fact that the fifth empire has become widely popular cannot in itself be a reason to reject it," Frederico pointed out to one of his critics, "We will never promote direct confrontation. All citizens must act prudently within the limits of what they deem reasonable. However, as we grow more numerous, we can reasonably act more forcefully."

The article, full of links and references, had a list of related articles and topics at the bottom, including a link to the Blacklist, which surprised Bjorn since that website was less than a week old. There were also links to something called Ingunn's Niceland together with links to the Venetian Republic, various free state movements and other liberty projects.

And under a section called recent developments, there was a rather lengthy piece on Lundby with a brief mention of Pedro, who was described as an elusive billionaire, rumored to be the mastermind behind the corruption of the Portuguese ex prime minister. However, Pedro had so far neither been questioned on the matter nor charged with any wrongdoing.

140

The path lead the two men to the crest of the ridge some distance to the south east of the village. And from there, they could see the village, pretty much in its entirety to the left, while still having a grand view of the fjord, harbor and airport to their right. The path, which had been so narrow that the two men had to walk one after the other with Bjorn following Ante, became once again wide enough for them to walk side by side.

"You know, I was worried about you there for a moment," Ante said, breaking the silence that had grown between the two men.
"When?" Bjorn asked, not immediately understanding what Ante was talking about.
"When you were alone with Einar in the servants' quarters."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"So that was why you popped in to see me?"
"Yeah. He is one of those kids, you know."
"One of those kids?"
"Yeah. The ones in the news. Just two weeks ago, this girl stabbed a woman to death in Asker, remember?"
"And you thought Einar would do the same to me?"
"Well, I didn't want to take any chances."
"That's awfully generous of you," Bjorn answered with a lighthearted smile.

Bjorn felt happy and confident walking on the top of the ridge, and thought the idea of Einar actually hurting him, quite silly.

"So what did Georgio tell you that made you so worried?" Bjorn asked.
"Well, he told us that Einar was a cop killer, and a little suspicious of people in uniform."
"I see. I guess that would have made me a little worried too. If it was you alone with him, that is."
"Thanks."
"And why would Georgio put it that way?" Bjorn asked. "I mean, wasn't that a little mean to make you worried like that."
"Georgio is no fan of uniforms either, I guess. He keeps poking fun of us for being one of them."
"And we are, aren't we? In their eyes, I mean."
"We're the bad guys," Bjorn commented with an ironic smile. "Yet they know that we aren't."
"And so they invite us into their little world to try to convert us, you think?" Ante continued. "To show us that they are the good guys, and that we can become one of them if we please."

Bjorn nodded thoughtfully.

"You think they are right about that, though? Us being the bad guys I mean." Bjorn asked.
"Well, we're not actively doing any harm," Ante replied. "And Georgio can come and go as he pleases, so he has no reason to complain."
"He's angry about the way things went in Venice, I guess. He might be projecting his anger onto us."
"What you mean?"
"Well, he told me Friday night that the Romans clubbed down the Venetians for wanting to break free of Italy."
"Really? When did that happen?"
"Quite recently, I believe."
"I can't remember reading about that anywhere."
"No. I don't think anyone took the referendum seriously, if it even happened. Except Georgio and his friends, that is. And... well... they are Fifth Empire nut cases all of them, aren't they?"

82

There was a steady stream of people entering the casino, mostly Norwegians but foreigners too. Bjorn recognized the three Italians from Nora's place among the foreign looking ones, and the two big Norwegian men who had been sitting to the side of their table also appeared a little later.

Pretty soon, just about every table in the room was occupied, and the waiter who had served the men so efficiently when they came in was suddenly busy going back and forth between the bar and her other customers. A big black guy appeared in the bar to help her, and soon afterwards two Asian girls also joined her.

Most people ordered their drinks at the tables, but there were people going up to the bar too, and this was evidently all right with the bartender who managed to serve both the customers at the bar and fulfil the orders coming in from the tables. Everything was dynamic and flexible, and the girls would at times help the bartender draw beer, or do other simple tasks while he put together more sophisticated drinks.

The hustle and bustle of the place was pleasing to watch from where Bjorn was sitting, and he was only half listening to his colleagues' conversations when he caught eye of a man in a black tuxedo entering from a door in the back together with two stunningly beautiful women.

"Is that Jan?" Bjorn asked, breaking into Ante's description of a particularly delicious desert that he once had on a vacation in France.

Bjorn's colleagues turned in the direction of Bjorn's glance, and immediately confirmed his suspicion.

"And those are his two daughters," Ante added.
"They are beautiful," Bjorn said, taking in the sight of them casually and elegantly crossing the floor in the direction of the stage.
"You're not kidding!" Frank agreed, adding a dreamy "yum yum".
"But you better behave when they are around," Ante continued. "Jan has a way of fixing things he doesn't like, so you better not get on the wrong side of him."

Jan, immediately followed by his two daughters, climbed two steps at the side of the stage, and proceeded to the centre, right in front of the velvet curtain. Confidently and dramatically taking up their position, Jan started speaking by lifting a wireless microphone and welcoming everyone to his casino. His daughters then took turns pointing out the facilities of the premises, and going through the repertoire of the evening.

Then there was applause by the guests as the three returned from where they had entered, and shortly after, the stage curtain was lifted, and a small band got going playing an old hit from when Bjorn was a student at a University in England. He was immediately hit by a sense of nostalgia and déjà vu, and for some reason, this gave him an irresistible urge for a cigarette. He could not sit still, and excused himself to his colleagues as he got up and out, first in the direction of the dance floor, and then to the exits.

And Bjorn was apparently not the only one who had a sudden urge for a cigarette. The three Italians were also heading for the exit, and Bjorn almost bumped into one of them as they headed for the same door.

"Excuse me," Bjorn said politely.
"That's all right," the Italian replied with a smile.

Once outside, Bjorn pulled out a cigarette, but even before he had time to put it in his mouth, a bouncer came up to him, asking him politely to go to the designated smoking area a little up to the side.

"We don't want any smoke right here at the entrance," the bouncer explained.
"Oh... I see..." Bjorn replied, taking his cigarette with him to the little row of chairs set out on the sidewalk together with paraffin heaters and small tables with ash trays for the convenience of the smokers.

Bjorn lit his cigarette, and seeing that he was standing right next to one of the Italians he asked him where he was from.

"Venice," the man answered, nodding his head as if this was very significant.
"Italy?" Bjorn added in way of explanation.
"Nah... There's no Italy anymore... Never was, really..."
"But isn't Venice in Italy?" Bjorn asked, not getting what the man was driving at.
"Sure... But what is Italy?"

Bjorn went silent. The question seemed silly, and he got a feeling the man was just being difficult.

"We're from the Republic of Venice, you see," one of the other Italians continued. "We're not very fond of the Romans."
"The Romans?" Bjorn asked, even more confused.
"Well... You heard what happened, right?"
"To your republic you mean?" Bjorn asked, glimpsing some sanity in the conversation.
"Yeah."
"Well... you had a referendum... and it was crushed."
"By the Romans," the Italian added.
"You mean the central government in Rome," Bjorn added helpfully.
"Exactly."

Bjorn thought for a moment before continuing.

"So how can you be from the Republic of Venice when it got crushed by the... Romans?"
"You can't crush an idea," the third Italian explained.
"You can't live in it either," Bjorn countered.
"So why do you think we live in Italy? Italy is just as much an idea as our Republic."

Bjorn went silent again, puffing a few times on his cigarette before continuing.

"Last time I checked a map of Europe I distinctly remember seeing Italy. I can't remember seeing any mention of a Venetian republic."
"And yet it exists," the Italian replied stubbornly. "Just like the empire."
"The empire?" Bjorn asked with a smile of disbelief. "The Roman Empire?"
"Yes and no," the Italian countered. "But I was thinking of the Fifth."
"The Fifth Empire?" Bjorn asked. "What are you babbling about?"

The Italians looked at each other as if deciding among themselves if it would be worth their time to explain their position. Then, one of them continued.

"The Fifth Empire is the place you end up the moment you reject the current world order and embrace the idea of total autonomy."
"You know," Bjorn answered with a smile. "That makes absolutely no sense at all... But go ahead, I'm listening!"
"The current world order only exists because people believe in it."
"Sure... That makes sense in a way."
"If no one took our politicians and rulers seriously, they would be powerless over us."
"Yeah..."
"The Fifth Empire is the community of all those who reject the notion that they need to be ruled over by others."

Bjorn took in this last explanation, and it seemed to make some sense to him, even if he could not imagine any of this having any practical implications. But as a fanciful idea, it was kind of cute.

"So where is the Fifth Empire?" Bjorn asked.
"We are standing in it," the Italian said with a confident smile.
"Lundby is an empire?" Bjorn asked in disbelief, and unable to hide his sarcasm he added "some empire you got her, I must say."

The Italians looked at Bjorn, also smiling, as if they thought him the confused one.

"All empires are in the end nothing more than the sum of the people believing in them," the tallest one of them continued patiently. "National borders are but lines on maps. They are only physical in the sense that people believing in them are spending time patrolling them. Once they stop believing in them, the borders themselves will be gone."

"We," the tall one continued, meaning him and his two friends, "are living in the Fifth Empire. And it makes no difference if we are in Venice or in Lundby, or wherever, because the empire is an idea. And it will dominate the world... You, on the other hand is not in the empire, because you have not entered it."

"And how, may I ask, can I enter the empire?" Bjorn asked.
"You enter the empire by declaring yourself a citizen of it," the tall one explained helpfully, and Bjorn immediately got a creepy feeling that he was talking to a member of some weird sect.

But there was no push by the Italians to convert or otherwise convince Bjorn that he should somehow involve himself in their sect, and since they all finished their cigarettes more or less at the same time, they all headed back into the casino as if they had known each other for some time.