Threatened with extinction, they felt urgent action was needed to tackle this danger. They turned to their advisors, trusted, clever, part of a system that was designed to rule over a vast empire, these were the voices that whispered in the ears of ministers.

One of the leading ministers, Dnabilim, felt it was his destiny to defeat this threat. So much so, he assembled like-minded individuals around him. Only those who shared his view of the universe were sat at the top table making decisions that affected millions of the kingdom’s citizens. But this was a weakness not a strength of government.

The advisors, keen to appease the minister, brought him only good news, or at least news he wanted to hear. This cycle reinforced the view of Minister Dnabilim that he was doing the right thing, because his advisors all agreed. To act as a check and balance on the system of government, these advisors were tasked to speak to “outside interests” to get their perspective too. Everyone agreed this was a sensible course of action.

Minister Dnabilim is an affable and well-liked individual, not prone to outbursts of anger but still, to be on the safe side and to be seen as loyal to the cause, those outside interests tended to be vetted first. So, the minister only hearing supportive voices, again believed the course of action he was undertaking was correct and on he ploughed.

Meanwhile, dissent was growing amongst the citizens. They saw rising costs; they heard about being forced to make changes to their homes and how they lived; they read about restrictions in their ability to travel to other lands (something that previous generations had not done). They questioned whether the minister was listening to them.

The advisors, because this is how the system of government was set up, told the citizens they were wrong; they were ill-informed; they should follow the direction that was set, after all the advisors were experts and knew best.

How the story ends, well it is still being played out in this land, far, far away.