"According to their excellencies, there have been many dictatorships in their previous world which have failed. Here in this world, there have been a number of nations in which the monarchs held absolute control over their people and those underneath them. There have also been many nations in which an elite force ruled over the people. However even in these nations, the king is not free to do anything he wishes... for an extreme abuse of power would spark rebellion. Never before has their been a dictatorship of this level of..... invasiveness."
Standing before a lecture hall of students- human, humanoid, and demon alike- was a humanoid spider.
He wore a labcoat and carried himself in a professional manner as he taught with dedication, the board beside him filled with the chalk covered scribblings of an instructor.
This chalkboard, just as this lecture hall, was multiple stories high. Currently, this spider was hanging from a thread as if he were a window washer, pointing to a specific area of the board labeled "Dictatorship" with one of his six arms.
With another one of his insectoid arms, the hanging spider pointed to another word.
'Human rights'
"Has anyone here ever heard of the term 'human rights?' Of course, only humans would probably know of this term."
Looking around, a number of the human students in the crowd raised their hands.
"I see. So indeed, human rights are a part of this world. According to their excellencies, human rights were a major part of their previous world. To explain to those of you who have never heard of this term, I'll explain it as simple as possible. A right is something in which each person should be naturally guaranteed, based on their dignity as a person. The right to life. The right to happiness. The right to freedom. The right to property. The right to privacy. And these rights were often protected by the government entities of the previous world. They were a critical part of society, and if it was found that a nation was violating human rights, said nation was determined to be evil."
It was then that the spider smiled, a wicked grin drawing itself across his face as his four eyes thinned in delight.
"The reason why our nation is so successful is because their excellencies do not consider rights as necessary. They are merely obstacles which get in the way of their ruling."
Shooting out a thread and attaching it to the ceiling, the spider swung over to the other side of the chalkboard, arriving at a different section labeled 'Privacy'.
"The right to privacy does not and cannot exist in this nation. For her eminence has become all knowing, and her excellency Samantha is able to read the thoughts of others. Her excellency Ashley is able to predict the future, and has never been wrong. And his excellency Trevor can simulate every action in this world, given enough information. To put it simply, with these four at the head of this world, the very concept of privacy cannot be enforced. Nor do they have any intention of doing so."
The students in the stands didn't seem extremely surprised by these words, but rather seemed to be taking notes diligently, despite the disturbing contents of the lecture.
"The right to property? What a joke. We ARE all property. Even if a piece of property owned some property of it's own, would that property not indirectly become the property of the one who owned them? That much should be obvious. A slave of a slave is the slave of the slave's master. Therefore while the owning of property is allowed, it is not something which we should ever take for granted. For anything we own, we may lose in an instant should their excellencies decide as such. And they would have every last right to do so."
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Shooting up some more webs to the point where a literal web had formed so that Coran could traverse across the airspace, he continued his lecture as he made his way from one section of the board to another.
"The same thing goes for the right to life. Our lives are owned by their excellencies and her eminence. Surely, this much is obvious. Many people within this nation have already died before. And who was it who revived you? None other than her eminence herself. Quite ingenious, isn't it? By reviving you herself, she's made it very clear. Whoever or whatever gave you your previous life does not matter. For it is her eminence who has given you your current life. And as such..... it is hers to own."
With a cheeky smirk, Coran glazed his eyes over the board, then looked back to the students who were continuing to take their notes.
"Happiness has never been a right. While the right to happiness sounds nice, how on earth would one even go about enforcing such a thing? One cannot simply 'be happy'. The world around them must be crafted in a way that it will make them happy. That is impossible through normal means. However..... I suppose their excellencies have perhaps gotten closer than anyone in history to being able to provide their slaves such a right."
Beaming with pride, Coran smiled as he jumped off the web, landing on the ground with the flutter of his labcoat.
"After all, their excellencies have managed through the invasion of privacy to determine the perfect occupation for each and every person. They have found a productive job in which each person will enjoy greatly, and granted them the skill to be successful in such a career. Never before in the history of any nation has anything been remotely possible. In their world, many people perused careers which they loved, only to be shown that no such demand existed. Others tried to be successful yet their skills were not high enough to achieve success, and they soon fell into despair. Within our nation, there is no need to worry about such things."
Spreading all six of his arms, Coran smiled sinisterly at the students, bearing his poisonous fangs.
"For as long as you listen to the guidance of her eminence, there will be no suffering in this world."
Turning around and folding his two human hands behind his back, Coran looked up once more to the chalkboard.
"And that brings me to the final right. The right to freedom. Heh."
With a chuckle, Coran seemed to mock the very concept which he spoke of.
"Freedom... hahaha.... this one is something which I found to be very interesting. It is a term with an excessively positive connotation, yet it's true face is that of a vile monster. Depending on it's usage, it is perhaps one of the largest threats to our nation."
Turning around to face the students once more, Coran raised a finger with intrigue.
"Freedom is a word which many people use to justify doing whatever the hell they want."
As he said this, the students furiously scribbled down their notes, ensuring not to miss a single word.
"Freedom..... it has such a nice ring to it, doesn't it? When people think of freedom, they think of being unbound by restrictions. They think of having the ability to do anything without the chains of power holding them back. Yet in the end..... freedom is simply a justification for people to go against those who try to create order. In other words... to be free is to be chaotic."
Grasping his hand, Coran looked each of the students in the eyes, grinning.
"And their excellencies have erased the concept of freedom from this world. For each and every one of us has been bound by their chains. Yet this is no reason to despair. For all this means is that we have no excuse to do things without reason. Yes, indeed."
With a nod, Coran closed his eyes as he begun to pace.
"To not hold freedom is to merely follow the rules. You cannot be held accountable for your decisions, nor will your decisions be incorrect. For their excellencies and her eminence know better than you. It is only in breaking this mold, in perusing this freedom of yours, that you will create problems within this world."
Coming to a stop, Coran spoke in low tone to those around him.
"And those who cause problems..... are problems in of themselves."
Looking over to the students with a grin, Coran opened his eyes as he spoke directly to the students.
"Would anyone like to tell me what becomes of a problem?"
Not a single person responded.
The lecture hall remained quiet for seconds.
Five, ten, fifteen seconds passed.
And then, a single hand.
"Yes, Hailey?"
"Problems..... are to be solved."