A recursive parable for children inspired by Jorge Luis Borges' 1946 one-paragraph text Del Rigor en la Ciencia (On Exactitude in Science). It addresses topics such as hubris, authenticity, virtuality, and hyperreality. A first draft of this short story was developed in 2006, and was reworked to its current form in 2012.
The New Kingdom
a parable
a parable
Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there lived a gracious King. The King reigned over a beautiful Kingdom, a place where people studied, traded, explored, laughed, and loved. For many years, he reigned in peace.
Every day, the King stood in his castle’s tallest tower and looked over the vast Kingdom below. He saw the marketplace, and the merchants selling their wares; the troubadours singing their merry songs; the butcher cutting fresh meat. In the harbor, sailors were tying their ships to dock; he saw the church, and children playing on its front steps. These visions warmed the King’s heart, for he loved his Kingdom more than all the gold in the world.
One Sunday morning, as the King admired his domain, his expression turned sad. He realized that his subjects would never share his privileged vantage point. Suddenly, he felt an overwhelming urge to capture the entire Kingdom in all its magnificent glory.
“… Stop that! All of you! ... Go back at once, you filthy merchants! ... You owe everything to me! … I made you and I can destroy you! …”
The King sighed; the distant rantings of a lost vagrant had disrupted his concentration. He closed the window and proceeded to summon his most trusted advisors. Once all were gathered, he asked:
“What shall I do to show my people how vast and wonderful my Kingdom is?”
After some deliberation, the advisors agreed: the King should commission a large painting of the Kingdom. This masterpiece would hang in the castle square, and all who admire it shall recognize the undeniable majesty of his domain. The King concurred and hired the finest painter under the sun. The painter set to work.
A month later, the painting was unveiled. It was beautiful, full of the trees and rivers, fields and mountains that surrounded the church, the marketplace, and the castle. But when the King saw the painting, his heart sank.
“This painting is beautiful, but I was a fool to believe that my vast Kingdom would fit on a piece of canvas.”
Once again, the King gathered his most trusted advisors and asked:
“What shall I do to show my people how vast and wonderful my Kingdom is?”
After some deliberation, the advisors agreed: the King should commission a royal map of the Kingdom. This masterpiece would hang in the castle square, and all who admire it shall recognize the undeniable majesty of his domain. The King concurred and hired the finest cartographers under the sun. The cartographers set to work.
Six months later, the map was unveiled. It was intricate, with markings for all the different areas of the land. It accounted for every road, village, church, square, lake, and mountain. But when the King saw it, his heart sank again.
“This map is exhaustive, but I was a fool to believe that such abstract markings would do my Kingdom justice.”
The King gathered his most trusted advisors once more and asked:
“What shall I do to show my people how vast and wonderful my Kingdom is?”
After some deliberation, the advisors agreed: the King should commission a model of the Kingdom. This masterpiece would occupy the castle square, and all who admire it shall recognize the undeniable majesty of his domain. The King concurred and hired the finest artisans under the sun. The artisans set to work.
A year later, the model was unveiled. It was beautiful, showing all the villages of the land, and all the houses inside the villages, and the castles, the churches, the harbor, and the marketplace. It even showed people selling their wares and tying their boats to dock. In its detailed castle square, there were replicas of the painting, the map, and the model itself.
The King smiled, and for a moment remained entranced, but then he turned around briskly to face his advisors and exclaimed:
“This model is delightful, but it doesn’t measure up to my kingdom. We must take this model and make it bigger… much, much bigger! We will make it life-size! It will be the grandest model the world has ever seen! And it will sit right next to my beloved Kingdom, and all who enter its gates will recognize the beauty and majesty of that which inspired it.”
Considering this to be a joke the advisors burst into laughter, but soon realized that the King was being serious. Confused, they looked at each other, but eventually conceded, this would indeed be the grandest model ever built! And so, the King hired the finest architects under the sun. The architects set to work.
A month later, the construction of the life-size model was underway, but was not progressing as fast as the King expected. The architects suggested hiring more hands. So, the King ordered all available builders to stop building houses, shops, and churches and instead, help with the completion of the model.
On one of his visits to the model, the King pointed out that though the harbor had boats, there was no one to dock them. So, he ordered all the sailors in his Kingdom to stop tying their ships to dock, and instead, tend to the ships in the model.
Soon, the builders and sailors complained. It was a long journey to the Kingdom every time they needed food. So, the King ordered the farmers and butchers to set up shop in the model.
With so many tasks to complete, the workers stopped visiting their families. The relatives complained, so the King allowed them to relocate to the model.
Eventually the builders in the model ran out of bricks. And the sailors ran out of timber for ships. And the sellers ran out of food. A worried advisor came to the King; he had heard the most disturbing rumors. The builders, sailors and merchants had come to the Kingdom to take more provisions. They had taken the houses apart, brick by brick. They had taken the ships apart, plank by plank. And they had dug up the crops, root by root. Then, they had carried the bricks, planks, and crops, and continued their work in the model. The worried advisor pleaded with the King to stop this madness.
The next morning the King gathered his most trusted advisors, but one chair remained empty. The King raised his voice:
“This work will be my greatest achievement! No one shall interfere with its progress! It will be completed even if it takes all the gold in the world! Through this colossal monument I will be remembered for generations to come!”
The advisors lowered their chins towards their sunken chests and remained as silent as statues.
One Sunday morning the King stood in his castle’s tallest tower and looked over his vast Kingdom below. He saw the marketplace —but there were no stands, and no merchants. He saw the harbor —but there were no ships and no sailors. He saw the place where the church had been —but there was no church, and there were no children playing on its steps. These ghostly visions stopped the King’s heart cold. Looking out the window he asked his most trusted advisors:
“Where has my beloved Kingdom gone?”
The King turned around to realize he was talking to an empty room. Frantic and disheveled, the King left his castle. He walked through the lifeless marketplace and past the harbor. He walked down the streets that held no houses, only ruins. He then walked through the gates of the model Kingdom and was amazed by what he saw: the builders were busy building houses… the sailors were busy ferrying people about on their ships… the merchants were busy selling their wares in the marketplace… the butchers were busy cutting up meat… the troubadours were singing their merry songs… and everywhere people were happy, children were playing and there was peace. These visions made him furious.
“Stop that! All of you!” —he shouted— “I order you to stop what you’re doing and return to the Kingdom at once!”
"Shut up you crazy vagrant" —yelled a man from behind a fruit stand.
“What did you call me, you filthy merchant? I am your King!” —replied the vagrant.
“Sure you are!” —said the merchant, as bystanders laughed out loud.
As the vagrant looked around, the whole world was spinning. Everything looked perfectly familiar yet completely strange. He wandered aimlessly through the streets, until he found himself under the shadow of an imposing castle.
“Let me in you fools. I order you to open this gate immediately!” —cried the vagrant as he smashed his fists against the wooden gates. Then, noticing the candlelit room at the top of the castle’s tower, he howled to the skies:
“I am your King! You owe everything to me! I made you and I can destroy you!”
"I can’t concentrate with all that ranting. Close the window at once!" —ordered the King to one of his trusted advisors— “Where was I? … Ah yes! To show the world how vast and wonderful my kingdom is, we must do something grand…”