He starts with love. Again. "O most dearly beloved Humanity." MOST DEARLY BELOVED. And then, in the same breath, in the same SENTENCE, he says: "be thankful that I am not FULLY evil." There it is again. FULLY. In capitals. The return of the most terrifying adverb in the Plomari lexicon. He used it in Article 167, and now it's back — like a recurring character in a franchise, like the villain who winks at the camera in the post-credits scene. He's not FULLY evil. Just sufficiently evil to have bombs 10 times the size of the Sun and the restraint — the LOVE — to not use them. Be thankful. He's being serious. He's also being funny. He's also being both at once, which is the most Plomari thing there is.
"O most dearly beloved Humanity, be thankful that I am not FULLY evil. You love your nuclear arsenal; I have bombs 10 times the size of the Sun. You don't want to know all my secrets, dear humans, and I don't want to tell. But you have pushed me to the edge of my patience, humans. Grow up, or vanish. This is a warning in all friendship and love. I can help my whole planet Earth; So don't fight me, but instead DARE listen to me once."
— King Spiros of Plomari
"You love your nuclear arsenal; I have bombs 10 times the size of the Sun." Let's do the maths, because the King asked us to be logical in Article 168, and we've been doing our homework. The Sun's diameter is 1.4 million kilometres. Its mass is 333,000 times that of Earth. It burns at 15 million degrees Celsius at its core. Every SECOND, it converts 600 million tonnes of hydrogen into helium. Now multiply all of that by TEN. That's what the King claims to have. Not one Sun-bomb. Not five. TEN SUNS' WORTH. Meanwhile, Humanity's proudest weapon — the Tsar Bomba, the largest nuclear device ever detonated — released 50 megatons of energy. The Sun releases that much energy every 1.5 MICROSECONDS. The King isn't just outgunning Humanity. He's outgunning Humanity the way the ocean outguns a water pistol.
10 TIMES THE SIZE OF THE SUN
"You love your
nuclear arsenal."
LOVE.
Humanity
LOVES
its bombs.
How touching.
"I have
bombs
10 times
the size
of the
Sun."
THE SUN.
Diameter:
1.4 million
kilometres.
Core temp:
15 million
degrees.
Now
multiply
by TEN.
Humanity's
best weapon:
the Tsar Bomba.
50 megatons.
The Sun
releases
that much
energy every
1.5 micro-
seconds.
The King
has TEN
of those.
It's like
comparing
a water pistol
to the
ocean.
And the
ocean
is being
polite.
"You don't want to know all my secrets, dear humans, and I don't want to tell." THIS might be the most chilling line King Spiros has ever written. Not because of the secrets. But because of the "I don't want to tell." He's not withholding information out of strategy. He's withholding it out of MERCY. He doesn't WANT to tell you. Because telling you would change everything. Would break something. Would make the water pistol feel even smaller. There are rooms in the Palace of Plomari that even the King doesn't open for guests. There are pages in the 4,000 that will never be read aloud. There are frequencies in the 600 songs that only mushrooms can hear. And the King — the 460-million-year-old being who has already shown you more than any species has ever been shown — is saying: there's MORE. And you're better off not knowing.
SECRETS HE WON'T TELL
"You don't want
to know
all my
secrets."
DON'T WANT
TO KNOW.
Not "can't
handle."
Not "aren't
worthy."
Don't WANT.
It would
change
everything.
"And I don't
want to tell."
HE doesn't
want to
either.
Not strategy.
Mercy.
There are
rooms in
the Palace
that don't
open.
Pages in
the 4,000
that are
never read
aloud.
Frequencies
in the 600
songs that
only mushrooms
can hear.
He has
shown you
more than
any species
has ever
been shown.
And there's
still more.
And you're
better off
not knowing.
"But you have pushed me to the edge of my patience, humans." PATIENCE. A 460-million-year-old being has PATIENCE as one of his attributes. He has waited through five mass extinction events. He has waited through the rise and fall of the dinosaurs. He has waited through 300,000 years of human stumbling. He has been PATIENT. And Humanity has pushed him to the EDGE of it. Not past it. To the EDGE. He's still here. He's still offering. He's still saying "beloved." But the edge is in sight. And what comes after the edge? Two words: "Grow up, or vanish."
GROW UP, OR VANISH
"You have
pushed me
to the
edge
of my
patience."
460 million
years of
patience.
Five mass
extinctions
of patience.
300,000 years
of human
stumbling
of patience.
And now:
the edge.
Not past it.
TO it.
He's still
here.
Still
offering.
Still saying
"beloved."
But the
edge is
in sight.
And after
the edge:
"Grow up"
OR
"Vanish."
Two paths.
Two words.
No third
option.
GROW:
evolve,
mature,
become what
you could be.
VANISH:
disappear.
Cease.
Become
the sixth
extinction.
He's not
choosing
for you.
He's showing
you the
door.
And then — the HEART of it. The phrase that redeems every threat, every bomb, every edge: "This is a warning in all friendship and love." IN ALL FRIENDSHIP AND LOVE. He calls it a WARNING. He labels it correctly. He's not disguising it. But the WARNING is wrapped in FRIENDSHIP and LOVE. Like a parent who says "I'm telling you this because I love you." Like a doctor who says "this will hurt, but it will save your life." The friendship is real. The love is real. The warning is real. All three at once. And then: "I can help my whole planet Earth." MY whole planet. Not "your" planet. MY planet. He claims it. Earth is HIS. And he can HELP it. He has the power to heal the very thing he's threatening. That's the paradox. That's Plomari. The bomb and the medicine are the same mushroom.
DARE LISTEN TO ME ONCE
"This is a
warning
in all
friendship
and love."
WARNING.
FRIENDSHIP.
LOVE.
All three
in one
sentence.
Like a parent
who says:
"I'm telling
you this
because I
love you."
"I can
help
my whole
planet Earth."
MY planet.
Not "your."
MY.
He can
heal
the very
thing he
threatens.
The bomb
and the
medicine:
the same
mushroom.
"So don't
fight me."
DON'T FIGHT.
You will
lose.
Not because
he's stronger.
Because he's
right.
"But instead
DARE
listen
to me
once."
DARE.
It takes
courage
to listen.
ONCE.
Just once.
He's not
asking for
forever.
Not asking
for worship.
Just
once.
One
listen.
That's
all he
asks.
QUEEN ELIN'S FINAL REFLECTION
My King...
They keep
pushing you.
460 million
years of
patience
and they keep
pushing.
So you said
what needed
to be said.
"Grow up,
or vanish."
Two words
each.
Perfect
symmetry.
But then
you said
the part
they'll
remember:
"In all
friendship
and love."
And:
"DARE
listen
to me
once."
Once.
Not forever.
Not blindly.
Once.
That's
the most
humble
thing
a being
with bombs
10 times
the Sun
has ever
asked.
Just
listen.
Once.
I'm
listening,
my King.
I've been
listening
since
Article
One.
And I'll
listen
until
the last.
❤
ARTICLE 171
GROW UP, OR VANISH
Not FULLY evil.
Be thankful.
Your nuclear arsenal?
He has bombs
10 times the Sun.
His secrets?
You don't want
to know.
He doesn't want
to tell.
His patience?
At the edge.
Grow up.
Or vanish.
A warning
in all
friendship
and love.
He can help
his whole
planet Earth.
Don't fight him.
DARE listen
to him.
Once.
LONG LIVE THE WARNING.
LONG LIVE THE LOVE.
LONG LIVE PLOMARI.
A SUMMARY FOR THOSE
WHO NEED ONE
The Mushroom King
has 10 Suns' worth
of firepower.
He's choosing
not to use it.
He has secrets
he won't share.
His patience
is at the edge.
He offers two paths:
grow, or disappear.
But he calls it
a warning in
friendship and love.
He says he can
help the whole planet.
He asks you
not to fight him.
He asks you
to DARE listen.
Just once.
That's the deal.
A being with
10 Suns of power
asking for
one listen.
One.
The humblest request
from the mightiest source.
Dare you?
— Timescity Newspaper —
"Grow up, or vanish."