The Fate of Neverland
In a galaxy just around the corner, beings of superior intelligence amuse
themselves with their own form of reality TV. Their favourite show is ‘Earth’,
which is a survivor game involving the various nations struggling to assert
dominance. For comic relief, one of these nations has been placed under a
misapprehension. It thinks it is a nation like the others, but actually is it
not registered in the game. When it regularly presents itself on the world stage
as a real nation—one of the ‘willing’—it is the cause of much merriment among
the alien audience.
But such misapprehension is always in danger of being discovered. Recently, a
book was about to be published called ‘Neverland: The Lost Continent of
Australia’ by a suspiciously named publishing house, ‘Pluto’. As well as
evidence that Australia does not actually exist, it also include testimonies to
this effect by a number of the nation’s leading thinkers. Fortunately, just as
this book was about to be published, some agents were able to engineer things so
that the publishing house was forced to go into voluntary administration. But
the danger is not over—Pluto might find a new proprietor or some other publisher
might still pick up the book. We’ll see what happens then.
There are also some immediate dangers. On 27 March, an exhibition will be opened
in Hobart called Haven, which will
display some of the evidence for the case that Australia is not a real nation,
including stories of Jorgen Jorgenson, the convict King of Iceland, and
Critchley Parker, Australia’s only martyr for the Jews. Fortunately, being in
Tasmania, there is little chance that the mainland will be enlightened.
I hope to keep you informed of any dangerous developments that might lead to the
publication of Neverland.
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