Kaiser Hermann II sat back and rubbed his hands together in eager anticipation. Behind him, the illuminated map of the world bespoke the stage that Germany strode proud upon - great and prouder than any other nation. In the whole of history, perhaps, or so he liked to think and so his courtiers liked to tell him.
It had been no mean feat to attain these heights, the slow rebuilding after the betrayal and shattering surrender in the Great War, the struggle for power, so near at one stage, then seemingly snatched away by... Even now, they did not speak of it. The suicide and the murder which had rocked the whole movement back on its heels, and the succession crisis which had followed.
But his father had emerged triumphant, replacing the decrepit President as Fuhrer at last, and after leading the empire to victory in the Second Great War, the final solidification of the new power structures, both within the much-enlarged empire, and within the world that it now dominated.
Hermann I had seen fifteen good years after victory before the ravages of illness had taken him, thrusting his son into the light of history, and onto the eagle throne and a destiny that he had set about claming as his own forthwith.
And he had done. For the last ten years it had been war after war after war, as the Third Great War coalesced around them. But now, in five minutes, the envoys of the defeated powers would come and abase themselves before him. He smoothed his robes down, not just for vanity, and looked up as the giant iron-studded doors swung open.
"The ambassadors of the empires of China and Japan and of the American republic"
The guard was young, blond and dressed in deepest black with the silver flashes marking him out as the elite of the elite, for all that he had not yet fired a gun in anger, except in the live-fire training sessions.
The three men shuffled in, their ankles chained one to the other, their heads shaven and their clothes tattered and torn. The emperor smiled and bade them kneel; he had expected nothing less of Reinhard, but these men were prepared perfectly for the moment about to descend.
Three guards came in behind them and as the ambassadors knelt pressed a boot down onto their backs, forcing their heads against the cold marble floor.
"You will acknowledge me as Emperor of the World" Hermann II said.
The fire had been beaten out of the Chinaman, and the American perhaps still viewed imperial forms as a sham and had no trouble making the obeisance, but the Japanese stared straight ahead, doing nothing.
"You will kiss the boot" the guard behind him said, applying additional pressure to the man's prostrate form.
"Kiss the boot or the armistice with your country is over and I will destroy it"
Hermann's eyes met those of the Japanese. For a moment there remained a shadow of defiance, then the Japanese followed the example of his two fellow ambassadors and kissed the boot.
"Emperor of the World" Herman clasped his hands together in delight.
"Sire", the Wolf had moved into the room amongst the shadows, his preferred place of residence, "Minister Schiebel awaits without, ready to read the agreement at your command."
Hermann looked to the Wolf and stifled a shudder. There were few people who could unnerve him, but this man was one. He nodded,
"Permit Minister Schiebel to enter my presence"
"Yes sire"
Schiebel walked in, a parchment document bounded with red ribbons and embossed with red wax eagle seals in his arms. He bowed deeply, but as an official of the German state was not required to make a fuller obeisance.
"Your Imperial Majesty" he said, and waited.
"Let it be done" Hermann II smiled, "The Final Ending of the Old Order"
"Yes sire"
Schiebel began to read, though he had all but memorised the text in the several days prior to this meeting. Drafted by committee it included several sweeping changes of tone and form, but the overall story was a consistent one. And how could it not be with German arms triumphant on every continent?
"The Empire of China, the Empire of Japan and the American Republic acknowledge the supremacy of His Imperial Majesty Hermann II as Emperor of the World and place their homelands, their colonies and protectorates, their peoples, their weapons, and their industry fully into his exalted hands."
And so it went on. By the time that it was finished, only the barest rumps of the beaten foes existed, with limited self-government and no pride. Schiebel stood to one side, and bowed his head, his role over.
"Stand" Hermann looked down at the ambassadors who now had the boot removed from upon their backs.
Shaking, they stood, one looking down, one with his eyes closed, and the American daring yet to meet the eyes of the most powerful man alive.
"You will append your signatures to the bottom of the document" Hermann commanded them
Schiebel simply had to stand there and wait whilst a pair of guards escorted first one man, then the next up, the Wolf coming out of the shadows to hand them a pen and stare deep into their eyes. The Japanese faltered and hesitated as he took the pen from out of his hands, and for a moment looked as if he might baulk at this final act, but with the Wolf's eyes boring into his skull, he signed the parchment.
The Wolf looked at it closely, analysing it and nodded. He would not have put it past the oriental devil to have scribbled some final act of defiance in the hope that the ignorant Europeans would not know better, but the Wolf was a quick learner. Language systems and scripts especially came easily to him, and if he did not already know something it was simply because he had not yet had time, or need, to learn it.
"The signatures are genuine, sire"
"Good", Hermann II nodded and looked down at the three dejected men before him.
The Wolf smiled thinly, knowing what was coming. The signing ceremony had been recorded and would even now be being transmitted; not quite live in case something had gone wrong, or some act of lese majeste been attempted, but as immediate as was possible. The men had played their role, now they were redundant.
"Naked we come into the world, and naked we go out of it" Hermann said, "You will take off your clothes"
The three guards bent to unshackle the mens ankles, whilst another trio of guards came in behind them and took up positions against the massive stone pillars that soared up to the roof far above.
The Chinaman stripped quietly, eyes closed, head down. The American removed his shirt and jacket and stood for a moment with his hands upon his hips,
"What exactly is going on?" he asked.
His guard slapped him forcibly across the face,
"Strip" he commanded.
Spitting blood, the American ambassador pulled down his trousers.
The Japanese had not moved, and now Hermann turned his attention to him.
"Take your clothes off for the Emperor of the World, or they will be taken off for you."
The Japanese continued to do nothing. The Wolf nodded to two of the guards and they seized the Japanese ambassador's arms, holding him spread-eagled whilst the Wolf drew a small knife from a pouch upon his belt and approached. Without pause he drew the knife roughly down the front of the Japanese's chest, slicing the shirt off his torso and drawing lines of blood beneath.
"Remove your trousers" the Wolf told the Japanese ambassador.
Gritting his teeth against the pain in his chest, the Japanese nodded and was released. Quickly he stripped naked, dripping blood all over the marble floor.
The three ambassadors stood naked before the seated emperor, the American making a half-hearted attempt to hide his genitals, the Asiatics cowed and beaten.
"Your lives are mine, as your countries are mine." Hermann told them, "You will beg for your life or you will lose it"
Only the Chinaman moved, throwing himself to his knees and touching his head to the floor.
"You will lick my boots" the emperor told him, and as the Chinaman's tongue began working on him, he looked the other two naked men in the eye, "Death is easy" he said.
The Wolf smiled; that was a clever move for the film recording. This film would not go out on the television, but would be shown to party faithful and elite troop formations. Let them see the final act for those who had dared to challenge the German Empire.
"Kill them", Hermann waved a hand in their direction, then looked down at the gustily licking Chinaman.
Two pistol shots rang out, a pair of guards from the pillars firing across the room, perpendicular to the seated Emperor. The American and the Japanese fell dead to the floor. The Chinaman began to lick even more voraciously.
Hermann let a full minute of this go by before he moved his foot, and gently prodded the Chinaman away from him. The man who had the day before worn proudly the garb of his country's foremost foreign diplomat, now stood with his tongue hanging out, naked and with fear and hope competing in his eyes.
"You may go." Hermann smiled, "The guards will escort you to the servants quarters"
The Chinaman nodded hurriedly and would have thrown himself to the floor to kiss the boots again, had not a guard taken his arm.
"You will come with me" the guard said.
As he watched the man pass through the giant doors, Hermann motioned the Wolf to his side
"Make sure he dies tonight"
"Yes sire"
Hermann was glad when the man left his side and returned to the shadows. He sat back upon the throne and watched as the guards dragged the two corpses from out of his presence. Then he smiled and nodded to himself,
"Update the Map!" he commanded.
Behind the throne, the illuminated map changed colour, three rivals vanishing to be replaced with differing intensities of red. The German Empire was now truly the Empire of the World!