The Voice of the Wide Spaces/001

Return to index

Raspy voices, raised in eerie harmony, sing words in Çervelik to music made up of bone flute and drum music in unhurried rhythm. The song ends, and a similarly raspy voice comes on the air.

Eked: That was the Serene Sky Ensemble, here in the studio with us today. Let us give our thanks - kala ejal sonoshid.

Serene Sky Ensemble: Kala ejal.

Eked: We will be back with a selection of traditional Euran human tunes later on - but for now, the agreed time is come for our news segment with Oshril. This is Eked, discerning and clear-voiced, live on the Voice of the Wide Spaces, leaving you in the sure grip of his forepaws.

A short bumper plays, a serious-sounding tune on some kind of animal horn, to a strident drumbeat. A deep human voice intones, "Live from Les Guilleux, we bring you VWS News with Oshril, son of Oshli."

Oshril: Good evening. It's 6 pm and this is AVWS, the Voice of the Wide Spaces. I am Oshril, wise and adamant, the son of Oshli, and this is VWS News.

And of course, the big news is the upcoming dissolution of the Federal Constituent Assembly which has acted as the provisional legislature for the Federation since the Proclamation of Punta Santiago, which has been in a process of revision in preparation for the establishment for a permanent government and elections to the new federal legislature, the Cortes.

As the new constitutional arrangements are being made through adaptation of the Proclamation rather than outright replacement, it's expected that the overall structure of the Federation will remain broadly the same. A known ongoing point of discussion is the length of time between legislative elections; sources familiar with the discussion say that while a six-year term is popular, it does not have majority support at this time.

The Royal Palace has announced that Her Imperial Highness Princess Abigail, the Princess of Rimarima, is with child. We presume to join all of the Federation, and the courageous Çerid, in wishing her well and celebrating her reception of the first and most precious gift of Taghli to all Her daughters: the gift of bringing forth life, as She herself brought it forth in the beginning.

For our Çer listeners, we remind them that since titles of royalty and other inheritances are not required to pass from mother to daughter among humans, the young royal is likely to be second in line to succeed her grandfather, the King, after her father the Prince of Rimarima, Princess Abigail's husband.

Statistics released earlier this week show that crime is on the rise in Alduria-Wechua. While this is particularly true in the Baatharzi Autonomous Region, reports suggest that the desert borderlands in Biscarrosse and Napoléon states are also affected, with smugglers establishing supply dumps and caches in the Green and attacking Çer bands that might discover them.

We here at VWS would like to take this opportunity to respond to certain suggestions that this latter set of smugglers merely replaces an earlier one. I wish to remind our listeners here is no evidence whatsoever to the allegation that the Çerid of the near desert are anything other than honest merchants and caravaneers attempting to make their way in life, or that their goods of more unusual provenance are anything other than what they are claimed to be: the fruits of scavenging and restoration in the desert. Çer salvage teams risk their lives and health every day to bring useful materials and restored hardware to the less affluent communities along the borderlands, often at very economical prices, and we must question whether those who compose the allegations against them are motivated by anything other than xenophobia. It is an unfortunate truth that Nat-Hum cultic influence remains a persistent part of political life both here and around the world, to which many troubles can be traced.

Such troubles are evidently not limited to nonhuman recipients, as Nat-Hum groups were reportedly involved with the recent overthrow of the Tzjar of Zeed. Reports from the Suren Confederacy indicate that the government, which is quite understandably not appreciative of the change in government and unrest on its borders, is in the process of expelling all employees of the ESB-Jörmungandr Group, as its Honourable Company has known high-level ties to the Nat-Hum movement. Independent businesses may find opportunities for growth in Surenid territory in the conglomerate's sudden absence, though the simultaneous institution of more onerous border checks along the Pan-Euran Highway are likely to temper expectations.

The weather for tomorrow in Les Guilleux is expected to be sunny and dry, with a high of 32°C.