23–25 December, Space Year 90.
The Bar of Silence.
After the milk-and-honey shop she had so often frequented closed its doors in bankruptcy, Aelyzabeth von Thors turned instead to a modest tavern. Though its atmosphere lacked the warmth to which she was accustomed, she preserved her own quiet ritual—seated apart, drinking milk in silence amidst the laughter and intoxication of her elders, never entangling herself with their revelry.
She purchased a small vacant chamber within the tavern and transformed it into her private meeting room. Every Friday night at precisely 20:30, that room came alive—not with alcohol, which she forbade absolutely, but with notebooks, pens, maps, and innumerable documents. Only fruit juice and sweet drinks were permitted. For in her words: "The loftiest thoughts and the greatest decisions must never be obscured by the fumes of liquor."
Rejecting the rigid atmosphere of offices and bureaucracies, she preferred this semi-public refuge. It embodied her creed: learning and creativity flourish best where the spirit feels free.
Learning to Change the World.
At but thirteen years of age, Aelyzabeth von Thors embarked upon a course of learning most extraordinary. She pursued simultaneously a Master's degree in Psychology and Law, while advancing toward a Doctorate in Psychology and the Sciences. Such achievement was not born of talent alone but of rigorous discipline—reading tens of hours each day, and engaging in debates with scholars decades her senior.
She entrusted her most beloved cousin, Aelaera (also known as Aelie), with the presidency of the scientific corporation she had founded herself. This institution was no ordinary profit-seeking enterprise but a "social organization," investing in projects that uplifted human life—from affordable medical instruments to innovations in education.
Every tax was paid in full, with complete transparency. Vast sums were donated to the nation, chiefly in three domains:
Education: the founding of new schools in impoverished districts.
Medicine: the funding of research into rare diseases and the tools to combat them.
Youth: the creation of a foundation to train future leaders.
For Aelyzabeth, commerce was never a mechanism of exploitation, but "a mechanism to serve society."
The Holy War of Humanity.
In her new book, The Holy War of Humanity,Aelyzabeth turned to the Second World War, daring to pose the question: What strategies might she have chosen, had she been Germany's leader of that age?
Though the subject was perilous, risking misinterpretation, she employed language of depth and restraint—an analysis of history and strategy, never an exaltation of war. She proposed, hypothetically, a system of campaigns:
The strike upon Poland without reliance on the Soviets.
The rapid conquest of France and the Benelux.
The commitment of full force to seize the British Isles as a strategic base.
The consolidation of Northern Europe and Italy for stability.
The strategic pause to avoid the cruelty of Russia's winter.
The final confrontation between the Soviet Union and the United States.
She concluded:"War is never what mankind ought to seek. Yet if history has already drenched the earth with blood, we are compelled to ask—was there no better path?"
Such fearless inquiry and piercing language rendered the book a work of philosophical literature, hotly debated across the academies.
A Quiet Birthday – December 25
That Christmas marked the thirteenth birthday of Aelyzabeth von Thors—the same day upon which Vito Vilozyver, once her close companion, was also born.
In the little tavern, many acquaintances and admirers gathered to celebrate her. They praised not only her unique beauty but also her intellect and her indomitable courage. Young men, emboldened by admiration, sought her affection—confessing love, pleading for companionship, or merely the chance to remain near her.
But she smiled faintly and declined with unyielding courtesy. Her words silenced the hall:"I am already wed… Though he has departed, my heart remains forever with him."
The name of Alexander, her brother—fallen in valor—was spoken softly, like an eternal vow. Silence descended; every head bowed in reverence, and in many eyes glistened tears.
For Aelyzabeth, this birthday was not adorned with laughter or gifts, but suffused with memory—memory, love that endures beyond death, and the resolve to live the remainder of her life in the service of his ideals.
Thus ends Chapter B-IV.