Kristoffia

“I was sort of listening to *Echo der Zeit*. World War III had broken out, and the focus was on the formation of alliances between smaller nations and the great powers. Suddenly, C. told me that Switzerland had handed over full authority to Croatia as the war progressed. I thought that was odd. The idea of ​​handing over total authority to Croatia struck me as insane. It’s like putting your own head under the guillotine—and doing so of your own free will. But then I kept listening to the podcast, and it turned out Switzerland had actually granted authority to a country called Kristoffia. The names were similar, and I figured that was why C. had mixed them up. The podcast went on to say that Kristoffia is the largest country bordering Russia. But unlike Ukraine, it is organized within a cave system, along circular tunnels—much like the Necropolis of Pantalica in Sicily. The uninhabited interior of the circle was completely overgrown with vegetation. It was so dense, so tall, and so intertwined that it must have been utterly impenetrable. It was as if the bushes had displaced the people—for once, not the other way around. The journalist said this tunnel infrastructure would make it very difficult for the Russians to fight these people. Suddenly, I was in Kristoffia, and a woman was showing me the food they had gathered. I remember small nuts and cloves of garlic in particular. She explained that they lived this way because they had to store their foraged goods inside the caves. Some of the caves even had ovens where they roasted nuts and the like. I was fascinated by this way of life, yet suddenly I felt afraid for these people. What do you do when times are lean? When you can’t find anything to forage? Do you ever hunt? I asked this question, even though the idea of ​​hunting seemed unlikely to me from the start. If these people leave so much space for plants in their country, then they leave...” ...they surely leave the animals in peace and are vegetarians. But the woman replied: "Yes, sometimes we do." Then, however, I had many other questions. What happens if someone gets sick? Do you go to another country and take that person to a hospital? I was convinced they didn't possess the technology to have their own hospitals. But then I wondered: don't they get bored here sometimes? Just gathering things all the time? I was taken to a huge hall filled with books. There were books on absolutely everything, along with many pictures and posters on the high walls. The woman also showed me her cameras and flash units, and they were very modern. I was surprised to suddenly see such high-tech equipment among people who lead a simple cave-dwelling life. It didn't seem to add up. The cameras didn't bear brand names like Nikon or Canon. I didn't dare ask any further questions about whether they owned Nikons or Canons."