The Blood Soaked Tulip - [CLOSED; ATTN EOTHASIA]
Posted: Sat Jun 13, 2020 10:09 am
Tehran, Socialist Federal Republic of Iran
January 15th, 2030
January 15th, 2030
The 15th of January came by with an unexpected snowstorm that gutted Tehran's battered power grid like a fish. Temperatures dropped to -10°C, blackouts spread like wildfire across the city, and snow paralyzed the streets before the government could respond. Many elderly folk who survived five years of civil war died in their sleep, while families huddled together around indoor fires made from trash and tires.
If a blackout struck over two thirds of New York City or London, there would be widespread hysteria and outrage. Mass looting, chaos, confusion and anger all at once. But in Tehran, the blackout lasted nearly 12 hours seemingly uneventfully. By mid-morning, most Tehranis had their power back, and impromptu armies of community volunteers, not government workers, cleared most of the streets. Though temperatures were still at -7°C and the city was clouded in a mixture of snowy fog and toxic fumes from all the trash being burned.
As was said earlier, this would be a nightmare for any other city of 7-8 million people. But for Tehran, it was barely a minor inconvenience, compared to what the city has endured this past decade. Coronavirus, economic depression, riots, war, all in near rapid secession from one another. And now finally, a period of calm.
Tehran looks almost like a ghost town. Many buildings are boarded up and abandoned, a city once known for having the worst traffic in the world now has little cars on the street to speak of, most traffic being buses coming and going. Stray dogs and cats are everywhere, their previous owners presumably gone or dead. Bullet holes and burn marks can still be found easily. But despite everything, the city was still alive. The subways were still packed with people of all walks of life. Shops were being reopened (under new management), people could still be found living their lives as normally as they can, talking to relatives on their phones, getting into arguments on the street about petty nonsense, laughing and running late to work or class. It was a sign of normalcy returning after a war that killed nearly half a million people.
Looking around one can see signs of the Revolution everywhere. Billboards and bus stops no longer show advertisements but posters celebrating "Mao Zedong-Hossein Nazari Thought", "The Women's Revolution", "The Cultural Revolution in Iran", "Islamic Socialism", and calling for "Destroying Patriarchy", and "Returning to Nature". Red flags lined the streets. Youths with red or purple armbands signifying themselves as members of the Red Guard or the all-women Violet Guard, or soldiers of the Iranian Peoples Liberation Army were everywhere. The Revolution was inescapable
Prime Minister Maryam Rahmani stood in front of a wall covered with massive paintings of the Fadaiyan-e-Khalq's heroes: From left to right, Cyrus the Great, Imam Ali, Karl Marx, Mao Zedong and finally, a man with a dark complexion, a defined brow ridge covered with a thick unibrow, slick black hair and a long black beard. That last man was Brother Hossein, the chief theoretician of Mao Zedong-Hossein Nazari Thought and the undoubted "leader" of Iran. In front the mural, Rahmani seemed insignificant, hunched behind her desk. Farzaneh entered the room and immediately greeted her with a stiff salute. Farzaneh wore a black military uniform with a beret and a purple armband. "Zindabad Iran! Marg bar Amrika!", exclaimed Farzaneh, Rahmani stood up and saluted back, repeating "Zindabad Iran! Marg bar Amrika!"
"Officer Farzaneh Soroush, it is an honor to meet you. I have looked at your record carefully before making my decision, and what I found was one of the most committee revolutionaries that we have the fortune of still being alive in these difficult times. I apologize for the short notice, we both know of the uhm, incident that took place. That will not be the last one. What I want to ask you is, do you know that Israel, America and the global Bourgeois want Iran to be destroyed? That they want the Revolution destroyed?"
"I know, as Brother Hossein warned us."
"And you know they will use terrorists to disrupt the government and kill our revolutionary leaders?'
"Yes, I know."
"So you understand that should my life be at risk, you must do whatever it takes to preserve the Revolutionary Dictatorship of the Proletariat, even if that means losing your own life?"
"Prime Minister Rahmani, in the name of Allah, on the blood soaked tulip of the martyrs, I swear to you that I will stop at nothing to preserve the Dictatorship of the Proletariat from all bourgeois attacks. Being martyred defending your life is an honor I will embrace."
"Are you aware of your first assignment? Today, you will be defending not only my life, but the life of the Britannic ambassador to Iran. I don't think I can underestimate the importance of obtaining diplomatic and economic support from my Britannia at this moment in time. Britannia is inundated with... Bourgeois and Zionist propaganda seeking to isolate Iran from other socialist nations. The Britannic government needs to see a positive picture of Iran before they can commit to supporting our Revolution in its aims. We need their support now more than ever.
"Understood, Prime Minister."
"Therefore, safety of the ambassador is just as importance as my safety. Any failure to guarantee the security of the delegation will be a failure on your part, and you shall be disciplined accordingly. Understood?"
"Understood, I will carry out my tasks with the highest vigilance."
Rahmani dismissed Farzaneh and looked at the time. 10:36 AM. The delegation is to arrive at 11. She rubbed her eyes in fatigue, sighing. She did not know how productive this meeting with the Britannic delegation would be. She considered the economic and political policies of Britannia to be "liberal" by her standards. They haven't even abolished the commodity-form yet. In her mind, it was Iran that had to show Britannia the way, but she knew that wasn't how this works. Infrastructure across Iran is severely damaged, ten million people are in refugee camps, the oil fields are in ruins, the ports are empty, and the Basij is still some ~100,000 men strong, holding on to the remote parts of Khorasan and the Zagros Mountains with no hope of getting them to surrender any time soon. Vietnam and North Korea can't prop up Iran's crumbled economy and unless something changes, it might very well collapse.