XV. The First Descent of Beelzebub upon the Planet Earth (pgs. B109 – B120)
Chapitre 15 Première descente de Belzébuth sur la Terre
Capítulo 15 A Primeira descida de Belzebu sobre o planeta Terra.
Beelzebub recounts to Hassein the events that took place during his first descent on the planet Earth. According to his narration he descended to that planet for the first time after the request of the relatives of a young being of his tribe, who were also dwelling on the planet Mars, in order to help them find a way out of an incident with very disagreeable consequences for all of them, caused by their young kinsman.
He landed with his ship Occasion near the city called ‘Samlios’, which was the capital of the continent ‘Atlantis.’ Head of this large community was King Appolis.
In Samlios Beelzebub learned all the details of the affair, that is, that the methods used by King Appolis to extract from his subjects what was necessary for maintaining the greatness of his community seemed to their young countryman unjust, so one day, while talking with King Appolis he told the king to his face what he thought of his ‘unconscionable’ conduct toward his subjects. The king discussed the whole question with him and the outcome of their conversation was a ‘wager.’ Among other things, it was agreed that, from then on, the king would employ only the measures and means indicated by their countryman to obtain what was needed from his subjects. And in the event that his subjects failed to contribute all that was required of them according to custom, their countryman would be responsible; and he pledged himself to procure for King Appolis’ treasury whatever was necessary for the maintenance and further expansion of the capital and the whole community.
The results of this sort of government, however, very soon proved to be quite the opposite of those anticipated by our simpleton. The subjects of that community-chiefly, of course, those in whom the consequences of the properties of the organ kundabuffer had already been crystallized-not only stopped paying into the treasury what was required, but even began pilfering what had already been put in. So, Beelzebub’s countryman had to begin making up to the treasury all that was lacking. First he put in everything he had himself, then everything he could get from his kinsmen on the planet Earth. And when they had been drained dry, he turned to his kinsmen dwelling on the planet Mars. When these sources also ran dry all the kinsmen of this countryman of theirs became alarmed, and decided to appeal to Beelzebub to help them out of their plight.
So, when B. arrived in the city of Samlios, that same evening, they called a general meeting where they also invited King Appolis. The king accepted that he was also greatly to blame for all those misfortunes and asked them to forgive him and help him find a way out of that sad predicament, and that as things were then, he could only do what they would indicate. The second meeting took place the next evening, without the king being invited, and it was decided to revert to the former conditions of government. A plan was also drown to divert the unhappy consequences of returning to the former order, especially from the king himself.
Almost from the first days, the restoration of the old order, as had been foreseen, begun to have its effect upon the general psyche of the beings in whom the consequences of the properties of the maleficent organ kundabuffer had been thoroughly crystallized. Discontent steadily increased and, not long after, the process now called ‘revolution’ started, during which they destroyed a great deal of the wealth they had accumulated over the centuries, as well as much hard-won ‘knowledge,’ which was lost forever. And they likewise destroyed the existence of many of their fellow beings who had already chanced upon the means of freeing themselves from the consequences of the properties of the organ kundabuffer.
While the process of their revolution was running its course, King Appolis retired to one of his summer palaces outside the city of Samlios. When the revolutionary psychosis had completely died down, he retuned to Samlios and reestablished his former policy.
Beelzebub’s unfortunate countryman returned with them to the planet Mars and later became an excellent governor there, for all the beings of his tribe.