Dirigent Dionysus
The Sierra Collective, Oceanus Brink, So Copros
Month 10

Dirigent Dionysus stepped off of the dirigenial zeppelin that made its first appearance at the Principality of Solus just months before. He was accompanied by no one else other than Apollo B. Hale, his personal adviser, who has won much of the Dirigent's favor since the days of the summit. The two have spent much more time together than ever before and spent many of their days on the zeppelin itself, as pressing matters throughout the year have consistently called for the actions of Dionysus and his council. However, since the days after the summit, the Dionysian Council has since been on hold, as Dionysus has started to put much more faith into his personal adviser, rather than his councilmen. Dionysus and Hale had just stepped off into the Collective's most prestigious city of science. The grand city of So Copros.

All around you could see the slick steel and brushed metals of buildings, lining up into perfect symmetry with the fine landscaping of the Greater Collective. The streets bustled quietly with life, as many of the people seen were far too busy with their own matters to make any actual commotion in the streets. The Sierra Collective's national flag, and many other propagandist banners fluttered quietly in the wind just off the edges of the magnificent chrome buildings. The zeppelin had landed in the center of So Copros, in a province known quite famously, as Oceanus Brink. The people going about their day in circle of Oceanus Brink had all stopped to gawk at the dirigenial zeppelin, expecting to see the luxuriousness of their leader step out onto their humble land. As Dionysus had stepped off, the people all bowed to him in unison while he smiled at all of them, yet none of them. Hologram sentries had spawned to the sides of Dionysus as he was escorted to the Brink's finest gallery, the Aphrodite Hall of Aesthetic Savory.

Dionysus and his entourage had sauntered down the street with purposeful stride. From the center of Oceanus Brink where the dirigenial zeppelin had landed, there was a brief, straightforward walk to Aphrodite Hall. The group had passed entire stretches of people gazing onto his Dirigence's presence, politely bowing as he didn't even pay them mind. People stared through their windows and entire floors of businesses all stopped to salute the Dirigent.

As they neared the hall, Dionysus couldn't help but notice the immensity of propaganda plastering Oceanus Brink. All around him were poster advertisemants, suspended banners, and projection reels advertising "The Might of Our Bull", "The Great Heroes of Steel" and "The Fine Confederate Soldier". One advertisemant in particular had blared over the city's speakers. "The great heroes of steel, are heroes of the Madre, heroes of the Dirigent, and heroes of the Collective. Pay respect to our great heroes of steel. Pay them in caps!" It made Dionysus smile at how easily influenced his people were but he then came to realization that it wasn't gullibility that influenced his population, but loyalty. He almost felt bad for deceiving them.

The entourage had entered Aphrodite Hall and immediately they were met with a giant mural, reigning just over the foyer.

"Well, that's new." Apollo had stated bluntly. It has been quite a while since Apollo Hale has been to Oceanus Brink, or So Copros at all. As beautiful as the city was, it was one for science, not leisure. Few people ever visited So Copros for fun. The mural was one depicting the might of Caesar's Legion, battling gloriously on Mojave sands, just alongside the rich blue holographic sentries that the Collective had prided itself on. This battle, of course, had never happened. The Collective has never been to war, nor fought alongside Caesar's Legion. This mural was simply a part of Dionysus' propagandist campaign, glorifying the might of the Legion, effectively conditioning his people to accept them, and not question their dear leader. It was one of many similar murals, painted across the Collective.

"Yes, I know. It's lovely isn't it? I had Casso draw it up one night. He does lovely things with those hands of his, hmm?" Apollo nodded in agreement, and the holograms stood unchanging.

The two of them, along with their guardians, proceeded into the hall, finding it empty of all other people, as it should be. After all, Aphrodite Hall was soon to be the sight of the Dirigent's address to the people, discussing the most recent changes to the Collective. The walls were lined with fine art, new and old. Many of the older pieces found in the region were restored and "adjusted" for the sake of aesthetic beauty, and they all sat on the walls coolly, with display lights making the shadows of their frames dance across the impossibly high ceilings, much like they did in the Compra Dirigenial Ballroom just before the First Summit.

The entourage continued down the long hall and eventually came out to a grand theater that seemed to dip entire floors into the Earth. It was entirely dark and the acoustics of the theater had heightened even the light flickering sounds of the holograms as they entered. From the top of the theater, where they had just come, the only signs of "life" they could see in the pitch black amphitheater were not lifeforms at all. They were instead a small, dancing rat pack of holograms, practicing their show on the stage for the eventual open of the theater. Dionysus knew that the rat pack had done this every single day and night, whether anyone was watching or not. Watching them simply "go through the motions" had always taken a toll on his heart. For some odd reason, Dionysus felt a softness for holograms. He saw them as lost souls, rather than simple programs.

Dionysus turned to Apollo and stated "Let's get the lights on."

The two of them then stumbled through the darkness with only the light emanating from their sentries to guide them. It was when Dionysus had managed to trip over the foot of a seat that Apollo had stupidly realized an easy solution to this issue. "Oh, silly me, I have forgotten all about the holograms' lightwave sharing feature. It's relatively new, as the scientists at So Copros have only updated a few holograms with this feature, but watch." Dionysus stood upright and watched Apollo wave his hand at the hologram sentries, and they raised theirs to their heads. This was a typical stance taken by the sentries to initiate an attack, but the holograms retained their faint blue tone which reflected their pacification, instead of turning a faint red to attack. They shot beams of light to the ceiling, which dissolved into particles that seemed to be absorbed by the light fixtures. Soon enough, all of the lights had turned on in the theater. "It overrides the series circuit in the wiring. It's good for lighting up places like this. Cute, huh?"

Dionysus nodded his head and turned to the sight of the now-lit theater. The seats were all tinted in rich art deco tones like those of the Sierra Madre's flag. The theater supported itself on columns, which were modeled into giant godly forms of men and women, with their arms raised to the heavens, supporting the height of the theater. Velvet curtains draqed from the stage and the entirety of the room was made of rich mahogany-colored wood. Dionysus had never realized it before, but the Aphrodite Hall of Aesthetic Savory was truly the greatest example of old world luxury.

"Let us call in more sentries, as we must prepare the hall for our coming aristocrats. They are all anxious to get an update on our most recent alliances. It shall be spectacular!"