Category Archives: Speculative

Fantasy, Reviews, TEOTWAWKI

The Witch’s Repentance – a Review

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The Weird Tales of Silas Flint (The Flint Anthologies Book 1)

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“You used your powers to commit crimes against the laws of man, however, in addition to the laws of God. God will forgive you, but that does not excuse you from the consequences of your criminal activities in this world.”

 

After reviewing the first tale of Book 1 of The Weird Tales of Silas Flint, we were so impressed with this pulp fiction narrative that we decided to jump right into the second tale!

What it’s About:

As the title suggests, this time we find Flint dealing with a witch who claims repentance and seeks forgiveness for her transgressions against God and against the laws of man. And speaking of repentive thoughts, this now seems an ongoing theme in the Silas Flint tales. Witches are evil and corrupt, and yet even they were at one point just normal human beings and thus even they sometimes long for that lost sense of humanity. 

Zelda Fletcher was a woman who was seduced and corrupted by a master of evil sorcery, Francisco. But when she realized that Francisco was aiming at more nefarious deeds than just robbing the local stores by ways of witchcraft, she had enough and left him. Now Flint must decide how to apply the full power of the law to Zelda’s case, while also dealing with a possessed Francisco who is about to hit town with a vengeance!

Reviewer’s Take:

Once again Beckman manages to create the ‘classic’ pulp fiction vibes we fell in love with by reading Solomon Kane, yet creating something NEW. 

Concepts of Truth, Righteousness, Good vs Evil are all valued and taken quite seriously rather than scoffed at (see a lot of mainstream ‘reinterpretations’ of classic characters). The relationship between Flint and his associate, Navarro, breathes just enough lightheartedness into the story in a tasteful and balanced fashion.

The other pattern I noticed in both tale #1 and #2 is that unlike other similar franchises, where bystanders and townsfolk seem just an inconvenience for the hero to keep out of the way, here everybody is welcome to aid Flint in fighting evil. In fact, we see Flint himself oftentimes encourage every able body to pick up a weapon and stand against evil, rather than tell them to get lost. This is a very interesting choice and one that I can appreciate for different reasons.

Needless to say, friends if you haven’t picked up a copy of the Weird Tales yet I strongly suggest to do so, and follow us as we move on to tale #3: Evil Never Rests!

🦀

Reviews, Speculative

Die Stunde X by Shaun Stafford – a Review

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Every now and then, a book ends up in my TBR list that will hit hard and make me ponder the absolute evil that mankind is capable of in ways that go deeper than I could have possibly predicted. Die Stunde X is just that.

Written in 1994 and first published in 1995, when the author Shaun Stafford was only 25, this book was originally conceived as a stand-alone novel but it eventually became the first of the Greater German Reich series.

What It’s About:

The premise of this alternate history drama work of fiction are as follows: It’s 1994 and for about 50 years now Great Britain has become a Nazi state. The Greater German Reich controls all of Europe and there’s a Cold War going on between the Reich and Russia and the US, who have formed a Russo-American Pact against the Nazi regime.

 But the British citizens are far from losing hope, and freedom fighters keep the polizei constantly busy. The best organized British resistance cell at the moment seems to be the Combat UK, and a bloody chess game is being played by both sides.

When the Third Fuhrer decides to visit Great Britain occupied territories, Combat UK sees this as the perfect opportunity to murder the leader of the Reich.

Reviewer’s Take:

What I liked about the plot is that the author leads the reader to assume where the story is going but later on, with an unexpected turn of events, introduces a series of different other possibilities. This move was masterful, in my opinion.

The story also describes five different ‘interrogations by torture’ scenes, which are very graphic. I usually don’t like to read about violence and physical abuse, but in the context of what we’re reading here, it cannot be dismissed or hidden. This is alternate history drama fiction but the vivid realism of the atrocities depicted in it will make you tremble and weep for humanity.

One thing I want to reiterate is that this is not at all violence for violence’s sake. Die Stunde X is brutal, violent, raw, and of very graphic nature. But it’s also beautiful in its absolute truths, providing a mirror for all humanity to stop. And stare. This book shouldn’t make you think “I’m glad I’m not like them!” but rather “All of us carry the seed of potentially committing heinous acts while  believing in a perverse and twisted idea”.

In conclusion, I want to congratulate Shaun on a magnificent job well done. This book was written almost 30 years ago and yet it has not aged a bit. No, I can’t say that I was smiling when I got to the last page, but at the same time I knew in my mind and in my heart that this book must be praised, it must be shared, it must be read, and it must be preserved for generations to come. 

Thank you Shaun, and look forward to book 2!

🦀

Fantasy, Interview, Steampunk

Steampunk and Bonsart Bokel – a Q & A

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By INFAMOUS 🦀

After having reviewed both The Wrench in the Machine and Journey to Elysium, we felt it necessary to have a little interview with the visionary behind this universe we are so much enjoying. All the way from the Netherlands, Mr Bonsart Bokel!

 

Q1: is what you are writing steampunk? Or what should we call it?

 

Bokel: Yes, although I use different descriptions for every book. The Wrench in the Machine takes my definition of the Steampunk genre, Cyberpunk in the Past, to ‘Eleven’.

Q2: Steampunk seems like a very niche subgenre; what the general audience sees seems to be very limited and restrictive for creativity to thrive. Do you agree?

Bokel: I think the problem is we haven’t had the conversation on what Steampunk should be. To many, Steampunk is just an aesthetic. They discard the idea of being a genre entirely. So it became “Steampunk is like porn. You know it when you see it.” 

Currently, there is a lot of Fantasy with a Steampunk skin. (This is not necessarily Gaslamp Fantasy either).

The other cliche is the overall approach to history. This being the ‘oppressor vs oppressed’ or ‘class struggle’ narrative. It might make for decent stories, but does not make good Alternate History.

Q3: The ‘historical’ element in fiction has been underrated or even misused. Do you feel your approach is different when applying history to your stories?

 

Bokel: My series has a high emphasis on Alternate History, so I’m taking the ‘Past’ part of the definition very seriously. There are more Steampunk authors like that. But you wouldn’t know them. They went to a different school and live  in Canada now.

Joking aside, some ignore the historical part just to give themselves the freedom to explore historical processes without seeming biased. The Guns Above series is a good example of this. 

Q4: My favorite character from Journey to Elysium was Subject-09…Any chance we might see her again or even have her own dedicated novel? I love her character and not because she is a woman or because she is disabled either!

Bokel: Subject-09 is kind of an accident. A silly idea that people really love for some reason. Even as a short story (Cough, check out my page on Ream, cough) S-09 quickly proved people’s favorite along with Subject-06. 

Currently, I am still exploring ideas for the future novels. Although I have ideas for her, S-09 place is in the bigger picture of the overall series. There is still so much I need to figure out for what I call Phase1 of the Association of Ishtar, I wouldn’t be surprised if I can’t get her to shine until the start of Phase 3. When will Phase 2 start? When I finally know what I want to do for the third novel. Until then, she’ll make some small appearances, like in Anwin and Journey to Elysium.

 

Q5: Tell us briefly about your latest project going live soon on KS. Is this a comic book or a novel?

 

Bokel: The Kickstarter will launch on March 17 if all goes well. The Casket Girls is a novelette about mecha pilots serving in the French Imperial Penal Legion that will be illustrated. It will also contain various miniatures for your 3D printing pleasure as we are working on an RPG.

Q6: Originality in modern fiction seems rare these days. I think you are carving out the blueprints of something new and original. What can we see from the Association of Ishtar next?

 

Bokel: I already mentioned the RPG we hope to present by the end of the year.

I’m working on various books. One is a second Anwin novelette, which is about an autonomous doll and her owner, Igraine. Another is the Knights of Avalon, which is kind of the male chivalrous counterpart to the Casket Girls. 

Of course we also hope to have the second issue of our comic Journey to Elysium done.

Overall, I hope to create a community creating new Subjects, Constructs and Planes to be explored. I’m already doing it on the illustration front with our Alternate History videos on Youtube. Finding a way to collaborate with co-writers would be great if only to explore other genres beside hard sci-fi without losing sight of the themes of Steampunk.

 

(Gee, and here I thought Alternate History stories were simply about taking famous characters from history and swapping race or gender LOL!)

🦀

Don’t forget to back Bonsart!

And also follow him on REAM!

 

Fantasy, Reviews, Steampunk

Journey to Elysium 1: the Remains of Babylon – a Review

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Bonsart Bokel is building an ambitious steampunk narrative via various mediums including prose novels, comic books, and video mockumentaries. The alternate history world-building and extensive esoteric research that must have gone into this effort seems exhaustive.

This is the first comic book entry. I prepared for this review by reading the expository entries on Ream. In the comic itself, there are some vintage newspaper stories and technical documents that are also helpful to the reader (unlike the “Black Freighter” inserts in Watchmen).

In 1791 a gigantic bell-shaped object appeared in space, in a parallel orbit with our moon.

 

Napoleon Bonaparte’s reign in France followed the historical narrative we are familiar with. However, underneath the broad-brush historical developments, the technology of his Empire advanced to levels that (in some fields of science) rival those of the Second and Third Reich’s in the next century. For instance, just as the Germans launched V-1 and V-2s at Great Britain after Hitler’s war machine ground to a halt at the English Channel, Bonaparte’s Rocket Corps also terrorized the Brits with his own retro-Blitz.

In the 1820s, in an attempt to send cosmonauts to the Elysium Object (the massive bell-shaped object that appeared in the previous century), one rocket designed by Ghulam Ali (Bonaparte’s chief rocket scientist) explodes on the launch platform, and another mysteriously disappears after launch.

We come into the story some five decades later. Corporal Maurice Havelaar, late of the Dutch-Indian Army, is assigned a mysterious mission. I say mysterious because even the general thrust of the mission is withheld until the last panel. Never mind specifics.

 

I’m about to mention something that might be considered a spoiler by the author, though he certainly provided enough clues for the reader to figure it out on their own: even though Napoleon died on St. Helena generations ago, he is back, in an influential role. He has been reincarnated (?) as a girl with a spinal condition which has rendered one arm and one leg useless.

Is this the author’s way of incorporating the obligatory gender confusion into the story, or just coincidental with the current year’s obsession with cramming LGBTWTF down the audience’s throat? Not enough evidence yet to determine either way. Perhaps future installments will reveal if this is the typical ticket-taking bounce onto the Troon Bandwagon or not.

This character (the 7th Chairman) is escorted by a zeppelinful of “Elite Airborne Dragoons” to a converted oil rig platform in the Atlantic, where the elderly Ghulam Ali now lives, with an unlaunched third Elysium Rocket.

 

With or without Ali’s help, the 7th Chairman is taking over his abandoned Elysium Program, before a rival space program run by competitor Utter Krapp can launch its own mission.

Then Havelaar arrives at the oceanic platform weeks later, and the implication is that he will be included on the Elysium Rocket Ride.

We’ll have to read Part Two to see where this goes from here.

Part One, honestly, is a teaser. Obviously, it’s not much of a plot. But it does promise a significant and ambitious plot to follow, hopefully with some action and lots of adventure. This setup for the story, mostly establishing the exposition so you won’t be lost on the adventure, succeeds at intriguing the reader enough to keep turning pages.

The artwork has a lot to do with that. The style of the illustration leans to the simplistic side, but it’s drawn with attractive linework and coloring, and striking composition that enhances what storytelling is being done.

There are several NGOs and paramilitary organizations to keep track of in this universe. I’m unwilling, at this point, to put in the homework necessary to keep them all straight. Over time, that might become easier and worthwhile.

The writing is competent, and possibly will prove to be exceptional…it’s hard to say, so far. There were numerous typos. Some of them perhaps intentional, as in the faux newspaper stories and technical documents. The name of the rival company (Utter Krapp) is the only humor I could discern, and as such felt out of place. It reminds me of some of Howard Chaykin’s wink-wink-nudge-nudge verbal humor in a lot of his faux-trademarks in American Flagg–except Chaykin had it spread consistently enough through his comics that the contrast between that and the sober character behavior was also consistent, and seemed intentional.

The bottom line, I suppose, is: do I want to read more of Journey to Elysium? At this point, yes, I do.

Fantasy, Reviews, Steampunk

THE WRENCH IN THE MACHINE by Bonsart Bokel – a Review

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By INFAMOUS 🦀

Though The Wrench In The Machine is officially Book 1 of the ‘Association of Ishtar’ novel series by visionary Bonsart Bokel, this represents just one small cog (pun intended!) in his enormous worldbuilding machine. To call the author just ‘a writer’ wouldn’t do him any justice. The man has a vision and writing is but one single layer of his vision. We will have Mr Bokel in a Q&A interview soon, where we will be able to take a deeper dive into this vision.

 

When Inspector David Ol’Barrow answers the call to a railway triple murder, he finds himself involved in affairs way above his pay grade, involving secret societies, associations, and individuals of questionable backgrounds. With the unusual company of a strange young girl, Igraine, and three-legged mut, Old Boy, Ol’Barrow must rely on his instincts and intuition to stay ahead of the game…And that’s only the beginning!

So you may ask, is this a Sherlock Holmes-ish type of trope? The answer would be: No. It does have a mystery murder element to it but it’s not that. This is something new, fresh, and innovative that is based on three major components: historical, technological, and supernatural. The author is able to combine those components in ways that we haven’t read before, and the result is a brand new sub-genre with infinite possibilities.

Of course many might label this as ‘steampunk’ since the author is and has been a student and expert of the genre for years. But to call this steampunk would too be inaccurate, though it lays some of its roots in the genre, albeit detaching itself from the clique associated to it.

To me, the Association of Ishtar is where new fiction goes ‘next level’. In a fantasy literature market oversaturated with the same old tired out tropes and cliques, it is rare to find some originality comparable to this.

If there is one single personal irk I had with the novel itself that would be the father/daughter relationship that develops between Ol’Barrow and Igraine. I liked the execution and how this relationship grows organically from beginning to end of the story. You can see how Ol’Barrow goes from annoyed with the girl, to curious, to slightly caring for her, to risking his life for her. But in the end, she really comes off kind of cold, not even reciprocating the love he displays throughout their ordeal. I was expecting her to at least be a little more grateful, but honestly she seemed more excited to have her little doll Arwin back than anything…

To finish on a positive note, I’m glad to say that Wrench In The Machine puts Bonsart Bokel in my list of ‘legendary’ guest authors of the likes of R. V. Mills, M. Lane, and E. Laurence Jr.

Looking forward to reading book 2!

🦀

Steampunk

The Spirit Phone

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It is August 1899, and Thomas Edison proclaims his most amazing invention yet: the Spirit Phone Model SP-1. At nearly the same time, a cocksure young mage named Aleister Crowley inexplicably teleports into the home of Edison’s archrival, renowned inventor Nikola Tesla.

As insanity and suicide multiply among spirit phone users, Crowley and Tesla combine their respective skills in “magick” and technology to investigate the device’s actual origin and ultimate purpose.

Embarking upon an adventure of astral travel, demonic invocations, and high-speed airship journeys, they are soon embroiled in a desperate race to stop the spirit phone’s use by an unknown adversary to inaugurate a hell on earth from which none shall escape.

Review coming soon to Virtual Pulp!

Cyberpunk, Reviews

ECHOES THROUGH DISTANT GLASS (BEYOND CASCADIA): BOOK ONE – a Review

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(Author: S. KIRK PIERZCHALA)

Review by INFAMOUS 🦀

Echoes is a very well-written story which, however, could have been trimmed down to half its length and still manage to deliver everything it does. I’ll explain what I mean in a moment.

When a sample of a seemingly new, potentially devastating biological weapon is seized by special agency ITOD, agent Owen McIntyre finds himself involved in the dealings of the most dangerous Colombian cartel led by the Chen family. Deciding to go undercover and befriend the younger of the two Chen brothers (Tomas) in order to gather crucial evidence, Owen finds himself in a roller coaster of struggles; both physical and psychological. 

On the surface this seems a pretty cut and dry cyberpunk trope, if it wasn’t for the infusion of ‘humanity’ the author instilled in it. Though we do have good guys vs villains, we also learn that people in this futuristic world sometimes simply try to deal the cards handed to them the best they can. Owen gets a rude awakening when he discovers the true situation Tomas is in and even develops some sort of ‘friendship’ with the guy.

Will Owen be able to accomplish his mission, or will the Chen family (headed by resourceful and ambitious brother Francisco) keep controlling the world economies from behind the curtains?

As I mentioned earlier, Pierzchala can write some brilliant prose, and she digs deep into the minds of each character to expose their innermost joys, fears, worries, and inner struggles. What I notice though is that this approach can reach a point of diminishing returns by slowing down the pace too much and extending the story beyond what the reader may find engaging. Particularly when it comes to this specific genre, you want a fast-paced, story-driven narrative to keep the audience on the edge.

Segments like the road trip that Owen and Tomas go on felt like dragging too much, with just a couple of events that never impacted the story in any significant way. A lot of chapters are filled with ordinary tasks as these characters just go through the motion.

In addition to the overall pace I just discussed, it’s also worth mentioning some plot points that felt weak. Example: knowing that you have a spy under your roof and that he’s wired, destroying his wire device won’t help you much since by then his backup most likely already has a location locked on you. You should be running, and quick, not partying!

But I digress…


Echoes Through Distant Glass is an overall interesting ‘cyberpunk/drama’ that suffers from a few pace/plot hiccups. Sometimes it’s tough to find that fine balance in a story that wants to be both character-driven and story-driven. I honestly feel that cutting out a lot of content from the final draft could have turned this into an overall more dynamic narrative. But that’s just my take.

INFAMOUS 🦀

Steampunk

Steampunk Double Feature

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In the year 1875, Inspector Ol’Barrow of Dover’s borough police finds himself grappling with the emergence of radio dramas when a perplexing murder case lands on his desk. Together with his colleague, Bigsby, they face an enigmatic assassin with origins beyond this world.

Driven by duty and a thirst for redemption, Ol’Barrow joins forces with a covert organization known as the Association of Ishtar. They serve as advisors to the authorities, specializing in managing anomalies called Rifts—innocuous gateways to alternate realms harboring untold dangers. Ol’Barrow’s eyes are opened to a reality where Napoleon wields futuristic weaponry against England, corporations pioneer otherworldly technology, and societal progress comes at a perilous cost.

As humanity hurtles towards a technocratic future, the question looms: Where will it lead? For some, biology is a dead end, and humanity must ascend.

Coming soon: Comic review by Hank; Novel review by Gio.

Steampunk

Steampunk: An Inside Look

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by INFAMOUS 🦀

 

Steampunk. What is it exactly? How do we define it as a genre?

If you ask 10 different people you’ll most likely get 10 slightly different answers. I admit, I’m no authority on the subject, but ever since its conception in the 70s/80s I always felt that this genre never reached the recognition or full creative potential in fiction literature I felt it could reach. These days we see a lot of ‘sword and sorcery’ content being written, followed to a lesser extent by science fiction and some cyberpunk. For the most part Steampunk has been a fringe, relegated to the awkward cosplay characters at cons and some mediocrely written comic books and novellas. 

There hasn’t been an author to really put Steampunk on the map. And that’s too bad, for the genre itself offers some most peculiar and exciting elements. 

The main element (for me at least) is certainly the ‘historical period’ element: Steampunk is based on a dystopian Victorian era that sees the introduction of technological advances that have influenced everything from communications, to architecture, to fashion, and beyond. 

This world is posh, austere, elegant, and intriguing. It’s in this retro style that we should find the source of great and unexplored storytelling. But do we?

Just putting goggles and top hats on some blimp-flying characters won’t make for great stories, but it seems that most of the steampunk content we have is just that: unoriginal, mediocre stories dressed up in Steampunk attire.

Virtual Pulp was able to connect with a ‘certain individual’ I firmly believe to be an authority on the topic. 

This gentleman will help me and you better understand Steampunk in relation to the current fiction literature trends, and dispel any and all misconceptions. He is also a proficient writer and thus we will also feature his first novel and first comic book, complete with a thorough review.

 

Politics/Current Events, Reviews, TEOTWAWKI

The Creator – Predictive Programming?

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Did some major travelling over Christmas break, and saw some movies I hadn’t heard of and might never have watched otherwise. One of them was this sci-fi dystopian thriller.

You might have heard the term “predictive programming” in recent years. It’s a psyop strategy discussed by “conspiracy theorists.” There seem to be multiple explanations of what it is. One of them assumes that those in control of government, media, entertainment and all other institutions are somehow obligated or compelled to warn us peasants about what they plan to do to us in the future. They like doing this via entertainment, then snicker to each other about how stupid and gullible we are for failing to understand (and/or failing to resist).

I will analyze this movie using that explanation of predictive programming.

We have a future scenario which might remind you of the Terminator movies in that A.I. has become like Skynet. A.I. was taking over the world, and coming to see humans as pests, it nuked Los Angeles.

So the American  military (which, evidently, is entirely comprised of Delta Force and Seal Team 6, judging by the shaggy hair, face armor, and optional adherence to uniformity) is tasked with destroying A.I.–which is based in China. The US has built a gargantuan hovering weapons platform called NOMAD which can locate and target A.I. assets, and is invincible, up until it’s time for the plot climax.

There are a lot of nits to pick, but I’m gonna try to stick to the metaphorical message of the narrative, here.

Spoilers are unavoidable, so let me  give you the big plot twist first: A.I. didn’t nuke anybody. Los Angeles was a 9/11ish false flag. A.I. is not trying to wipe out humanity. A.I. is benevolent and has “more heart” than humanity. At least humans in America.

America is the root of all evil. Pretty standard worldview of anybody allowed to work in Homowood, Commiefornia, of course. Willfully blind to nuance, they make no distinction between the America that once existed and the Orwellian corporatist abomination that has replaced it in real life.

The important points:

With only one exception, Caucasians are all villains, or at best, part of the problem.

The only good guys are non-white.

America holds the world hostage, terrorizing people with its frightening technology–in order to eliminate other frightening technology.

The Chinese and robot victims of the American Bullies are just like the Viet Cong: wonderful people living in harmony who dindu nuffin until provoked by Yankee imperialists.

NOMAD is basically the USA itself–a huge, heartless machine using murder and intimidation to colonize the less fortunate and build empire. Maybe the similarity of “NOMAD” to “NORAD” is not coincidental. (Marxists love to conflate, and this would conflate America with the military-industrial complex and the globalist agents who have hijacked America.)

A.I. is a benevolent supervisor of humanity. It only wants the best for us. It’s like a protective parent or older sibling. You could call it “Big Brother,” I suppose.

Big Brother is trying to rescue the world from the diabolical running dog Americans who foolishly resist the Singularity. As part of this effort, A.I. has manufactured a child Messiah (complete with miraculous powers) who wants to set everyone “free.”

The Messiah Child is said to be developing a weapon that can destroy NOMAD. Not true, evidently, but the fear of such is used to justify an American military operation (shades of WMDs in Iraq, obviously) to  destroy the Messiah Child.

In some convoluted twist of movie logic, the Messiah Child is somehow the offspring of the black hero’s Asian wife. Big Brother used the woman’s genes to manufacture the robot, or enhance its CPU or something. Anyway, this Messiah has a Current Year Diverse Mary and Joseph as parental figures.

The hero turns coat (his commanding officer labels him a traitor) and becomes the Messiah Child’s protector. They get aboard NOMAD and plant an explosive device.

The child escapes.

The hero finally reunites with his wife; they embrace and kiss as chain reaction explosions consume them and everything around them.

NOMAD is destroyed and falls from the heavens to crash and burn on Earth. The world celebrates.

To put it in more simple terms:

  • America is a hated terrorist country.
  • Big Brother (headquartered in China, apparently) begins to take over the world. For our own good, of course.
  • Big Brother even produces a lovable Messiah figure to set robots free.
  • Most humans outside the US have been replaced by bots.
  • The bots are more altruistic than humans–especially Americans.
  • The reactionary USA sees all this as a threat.
  • America goes to war with Big Brother.
  • There are foreign nations living within the USA fulfilling key roles–including in our military and espionage agencies.
  • Those (non-white) nations will decide that Big Brother is more righteous than the USA, and switch allegiance when the chips are down.
  • POC, anchor babies and A.I. technology will sabotage America from within, bringing down the USA in spectacular fashion while it is engaged in an unjust foreign conflict.
  • Big Brother and its manufactured Messiah will escape destruction.
  • The POC/Trojan Horse nations within the USA will enjoy carnal pleasure right up until their evil American hosts are consumed in apocalyptic fire.
  • The “good” humans of the world will now be joyous and free of American oppression. Ding-dong, the Yanks are dead.
  • Now the world can live in harmony under the compassionate guidance of Big Brother.

The long-form message is  also in perfect alignment with the power behind Homowood. As members of the Hive Mind so often do, they use the catastrophes caused by its own mechanisms (in this case, the Globohomo Cabal controlling the US government–and its foreign policy in particular) as an argument for embracing more of its own mechanisms (in this case a global government under an A.I. Big Brother that will sweep away the last vestiges of the Old [American] Republic).