The Cause of War (4)
Even though I wasn't the one receiving the award, my heart fluttered with a strange excitement.
"Representative Stahl came instead of Chairman Wittgenstein?"
"...To be honest, Stahl is the one who truly deserves the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Chairman Wittgenstein is qualified, but not nearly as much as Representative Stahl."
"That's true. Isn't that why Chairman Wittgenstein stepped aside for him?"
"I heard his illness is real, though."
"Still."
I could clearly hear the reporters whispering. Intellectuals and journalists from various countries had gathered to hear my speech. They were waiting for my words—the discoverer of the nitrogen fixation process—rather than Chairman Wittgenstein, the actual Nobel laureate. Even if I, as a chemical engineer, didn't feel deeply emotional about it.
This was the very stage where Einstein, Rutherford, Niels Bohr, and Heisenberg had once stood. And was that all? Henri Bergson, Bertrand Russell, Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre... The philosophers whose works I had read to death and been deeply moved by during my undergraduate years had also stood here as Nobel laureates in Literature.
Perhaps standing here as a Nobel laureate in Literature would have been even more glorious than winning one in Chemistry or Physics. The petty feelings I had harbored over the Nobel Prize seemed to melt away. Well, whatever. I could always pull a Marie Curie and win two.
My plan to denounce Sweden as the worst country on Earth for not even serving a proper meal was officially aborted. Of course, I still had to throw out some political bait. After all, I've always been the type to relentlessly beat a single target. At any rate, I uttered my first words to the audience.
"I am Marx Stahl, standing here today on behalf of Chairman Wittgenstein. It is a matter of great regret that the Chairman could not attend in person due to health reasons. When we first developed synthetic ammonia, it was for peace—solely for peace. The root cause of all wars lies in the monopolization of limited resources. Peace cannot be achieved simply by shouting for it. Liberation from limited resources and labor—that is the only way to stop war. The shackles of limited resources and monopoly. We have fought to destroy them."
As I spoke, my conscience pricked me slightly. Really? Even in the 21st century, where enough food is produced to feed all of humanity, people still suffer from famine and war. When will resources ever truly be unlimited? Isn't that fundamentally impossible?
"However, my thoughts have changed recently. Some fight simply because they believe in different religions, or because they belong to different, vaguely defined ethnicities. They fight merely because they are divided by imaginary lines called borders. The war in the Balkans drags on. It is a reality that a certain nation assassinates foreign monarchs while rounding up those who cry for peace, locking them in concentration camps, and committing horrific atrocities. Chairman Wittgenstein and I developed ammonia. Humanity has now been liberated from famine. I wish to ask them: What are you fighting for? To enslave one another? Or perhaps to completely exterminate other ethnicities? I ask you this in all sincerity. That is all. Thank you."
The short speech ended. The reporters, completely forgetting to applaud at my explosive declaration, frantically clicked their camera shutters or scribbled furiously in their notebooks. This is my true feeling. How do you like that, Führer Apis of Serbia? This is my final blow in the Balkans.
Despite the severe censorship of the press, Stahl's Nobel acceptance speech spread through back channels, turning public sentiment in Yugoslavia upside down. To make matters worse, as the grim reality of trench warfare became known, anti-war factions gained momentum once again. International condemnation was just the cherry on top.
At this point, Apis wasn't even angry anymore. Let's talk about psychoanalysis for a moment. Freud said that the powerful repression and frustration of instincts worsen neurosis. And the pressure weighing down on Apis, the Führer of Yugoslavia, was heavier than ever. A normal person would have succumbed to severe lethargy and depression.
But politicians are a mad breed to begin with, so he didn't exhibit symptoms of depression. Instead, his inherent madness—specifically, his delusions and paranoia—intensified. In Apis's case, his delusions had reached a fever pitch.
"To think the clutches of the Freemasons have reached even the Swedish royal family."
"Pardon? The Freemasons?"
"Yes, I finally see it now. All of this is the work of the Freemasons!"
Only madmen remained around Apis. Any sane politician had been purged long ago. Yet, the sudden mention of the word "Freemasons" was enough to startle even his deranged inner circle.
"We lack your Excellency's profound insight and find it difficult to understand. Could you perhaps explain?"
"Look at what is happening. The front lines are stalemated, and traitors inciting anti-war sentiment are running rampant. And yet, of all times, Stahl receives a Nobel Prize, provoking the Reds. Haven't you noticed how strange it is? Every single time that rat Stahl does something, it miraculously goes off without a hitch. It is clear... a secret society is operating in the shadows across the globe, working to hinder the uprising of us Slavs. They must be plotting to rule the world and exterminate the Slavic race!"
A cold silence fell over the Yugoslav conference room. What? A secret society? The Austro-Hungarian Empire, its ally the German Empire, and even Sweden were all completely controlled by a single 'secret society'? It was an utterly unbelievable claim, but...
"I-indeed! So that was it! That perfectly explains the source of all the slander and sabotage directed at our Republic until now!"
"To think those heinous Freemasons have infiltrated so deeply..."
"Hahaha! Do you finally see? But our Yugoslavia and the Black Hand will never yield. We will not fall for the wicked German-Jewish-Bolshevik conspiracy to rule the world!"
To the Yugoslav politicians, the premise of "Freemasons operating in the shadows to rule the world" wasn't entirely far-fetched. After all, Yugoslavia itself was a nation born from a secret society! They even had a track record of turning conspiracy theories—like "an intelligence agency brainwashing a madman to assassinate a head of state"—into reality. They were already living in a world of conspiracies.
Are they insane? Is this really happening? Even if there is a plot to destroy Serbia, isn't it because we keep provoking everyone internationally? Naturally, there were still some sane people left in the Yugoslav government. Most of them were bureaucrats who had handled administration since the days of the Kingdom of Serbia. They broke out in cold sweats as they watched the Black Hand members indulge in their elaborate roleplay. But what could they possibly do?
"Ha, hahaha... You are absolutely right! They must be inciting the 'last men' Nietzsche spoke of."
"Exactly! The only ones worthy of becoming the Übermensch are we, the Slavic people!"
"Indeed. Didn't Nietzsche call Germany a den of the last men?"
"Yes, precisely. For the evolution of humanity, we must incinerate all the uncivilized Germans, Jewish rats, and communists."
Without outstanding acting skills, one could never survive under the Yugoslav Black Hand government. Those who lacked the talent had already been sent to the concentration camps to "restore their national spirit," where their physical bodies vanished, leaving behind only the noble souls of the Slavic race. And now, the charge of being a Freemason had been added to the list.
After their delusional roleplay continued for some time, it was finally time to hold an actual strategy meeting.
"Due to the offensive of the last men and the Freemasons, the fate of our Republic hangs by a thread. Isn't it about time we execute O.G.?"
"Do you mean... Operation Guillotine?"
Operation Guillotine. It was the pinnacle of the delusions and roleplay conjured up by Apis and Yugoslavia. Realistically, Yugoslavia's weight class was nowhere near that of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. They were even pushed back by the Ottomans unless they cooperated with other small Balkan nations. Naturally, their options in grand strategy were extremely limited.
And what was the scheme Yugoslavia had chosen? First, use their immense intelligence assets to assassinate all the leaders of neighboring countries while instigating nationalist revolutionary rebellions. Second, launch a surprise attack the moment those neighboring nations are left groggy, forcing them to bleed heavily. Third, since a long-term war is impossible due to their limited national power, paralyze the enemy forces in one fell swoop and force them to the negotiating table. It was a plan so full of reckless gambles that their delusional roleplay actually seemed reasonable by comparison.
Is that bastard Apis serious? The moment we pull a stunt like that, Serbia will be wiped off the map, just as Stahl threatened! Sane bureaucrats recalled the first page of Operation Guillotine. They didn't even need to execute the plan. The mere leak of the document's contents would spell the end of Serbia.
The state had actually drawn up a list to assassinate the government officials of other nations. In addition, Hitler, Stalin, Lenin, Viktor Adler, Freud, Landsteiner, Wittgenstein, and others were on it. Anyone belonging to the Stahl Faction, or even remotely associated with Stahl, had been put on the hit list.
That wasn't all. Not only did they include government officials from nations cooperating with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, such as the German Empire, but they had also thrown in officials from friendly nations like the Kingdom of Montenegro and the Russian Empire just in case. Who knew if even their allies might turn out to be Freemasons in an emergency?
Other guest appearances on the list included King George V of Great Britain, the Jewish superstar Dreyfus, and the genius Turkish general Atatürk.
We must stop that madman from flying off the handle, no matter what! Honestly, was this even feasible? They might get lucky and succeed with one or two, but succeeding with just a couple would only provoke Stahl's wrath. At that moment, Serbia would be doomed.
"U-Um, Führer! I do not believe it is time to execute that operation just yet."
"What? Not even now, when the Freemasons' offensive has come to light?"
Apis, who had been in a stellar mood after developing his "Freemason conspiracy theory," was on the verge of losing his temper. If some power-hungry lunatic or just a plain madman pointed a finger and said, "I think that guy is a Freemason spy!"—it was obvious what would happen. They would be beaten on the spot with a National Spirit Injection Rod and dragged off to a communist treatment facility. There, they would be freed from their filthy Freemason bodies, leaving behind only a pure Slavic soul.
"Y-Y-Yes, indeed! We still have Great Britain, do we not?"
"Go on. Speak."
"Great Britain may be a despicable Germanic nation and the birthplace of the Freemasons. However, they are also enemies with the German Empire, which is a den of the German-Jewish-Bolsheviks."
"And?"
"There must be patriots there fighting against the Freemasons, just like us! Strictly speaking, aren't the British Anglo-Saxons, not Germans?"
"Aren't the Anglo-Saxons a branch of the Germanic peoples?"
"W-Well... the British are descendants of the Vikings. Therefore, they can be considered honorary Slavs, or second-class Slavs, mixed with Slavic blood."
Apis fell into deep thought upon hearing this improvised lore. Well, now... that actually makes some sense. Seeing Apis waver, the other moderate bureaucrats scrambled to chime in and support the claim.
"Those second-class Slavs will soon launch an offensive against the German-Jewish-Bolsheviks to save Serbia."
"Exactly! Let us Serbians conquer the continent, while the Anglo-Saxons take charge of the seas!"
After much persuasion, Apis finally nodded. It didn't matter if the execution date of O.G. was delayed slightly. If Great Britain failed to move as the moderate bureaucrats claimed, he could simply purge them then and carry out the operation anyway.
"Yes, that makes sense. We shall postpone the execution date of O.G."
Now, the lives of the moderate bureaucrats rested entirely on Great Britain. If Great Britain didn't move in time? That would be their ticket straight to the concentration camps to be cured of their "communism."