Citizens Of Antiford 
Afternoon of Discovery Day
It was mid-afternoon, but the Kovy's nest was already busier than usual, thanks to the holiday. Annabelle Bardeneen came through the door, bag slung over her shoulder and scarf draped over her head. "Hey Oslo," She said, pushing her scarf back so that it settled around her neck. She handed the bar tender a slip of paper. "Happy Discovery Day."
Thorin, a yeti who was romantically involved with one of the waitresses, huffed. "I still can't believe that you celebrate the 'discovery' of a land that was already inhabited."
Annabelle shrugged. "They were the first of their species to see Arraz. That's worth something, right?"
Bernadette, the waitress with whom Thorin was involved, came up to the bar, holding three empty glasses. She handed them over the bar to Oslo "And I suppose you went to that stupid shindig downtown."
"Yeah," Annabelle said. "It was fun. I even brought you back a present." She handed Bernadette a slip of paper.
Bernadette looked down at it. "Free Water. That is actually a nice present, Thank you."
Annabelle shrugged. "I could only use one anyway. That's why you go to Discovery Day celebrations." She carefully counted out three ten simo coins and pushed them at Oslo. "Pour me a glass of the house brew."
The house brew was cheap and got a person drunk, which is why people continued to drink it, even if it tasted like a mix of raw river water and medical alcohol ineffectively tempered by fruit syrup. Which, to be fair, was exactly what it was. Oslo grabbed the coins and slid a glass of the murky looking liquid across the bar. "This will kill you, slowly."
"So will life in the technocracy," Annabelle quipped. She raised the glass. "To the new Prime Minister."
Bernadette frowned. "The what?"
"Oh, yeah," Annabelle said. "They just announced that Antiford has a Prime Minister now. I guess he's supposed to be the public face of the Council or something."
A drunkard at one of the tables shouted something in Bernadettes direction. He was drunk enough already that it was hard to tell exactly what he said, but clearly he though Bernadette should be at his table. She sighed and turned around, heading over there.
Thorin frowned. "The Prime Minister is one who speaks for the king. Or at least that's how the old position is translated."
"It's the same in Kuu," Oslo said.
"So for whom does Antiford's prim minister speak?" Thorin asked.
"The Council?" Annabelle shrugged. "Maybe the term jut doesn't translate quite right. It doesn't actually matter anyway. They put Mordecai Marigold in the position. That means it's powerful, if only because the Marigold family is."
"Do you think that means the council is going to change things?" Thorin asked
"Obviously not," Bernadette cut in. She rested her hands against the bar. "Two more glasses of the basic stuff. Table seven's tab." She turned to Annabelle. "And what the hell is a Prime Minister?"
Oslo began pouring two mugs of the actual beer that Mr. Tarrow brought in. Annabelle turned to Bernadette. "He's the shiny new puublic face of the council. Your point still stands though. The Council doesn't actually care what we do down here. They can have their politics, and we, the bottom feeding scum of society, will be just fine. Provided they don't go to war."
Bernadette took the mugs up and said, "Mogus rusting well knows it. Sounds like a dumb idea though. Isn't the whole point of the Council that we don't know them?" She turned around and carried the mugs with her.
"Don't you care about how your country is govenred?" Thorin asked.
Annabelle took a gulp of the house brew and screwed up her face at the taste. The first sip was always the worst. Finally she shook her head. "I used to, but...In this day and age, it only gets you killed."
Oslo nodded. "That it does. Not caring makes you a terrible person."
Annabelle shrugged. "We're all terrible people, but the council is too. Life is just terrible." She raised her glass. She took another sip. The mixture hadn't changed, but somehow, the second sip never tasted as bad.