Introducing Aether Quill: Our high octane man in the panama
Aether Quill Reports: “Let Them Eat Likes” — A Conversation with Marie Antoinette in the Age of Algorithmic Aristocracy
She arrives late, of course. Not out of rudeness, but because her powdered wig had to be debugged. “It kept buffering,” she explains, sipping a latte made from oat milk and regret.
I ask her what she thinks of today’s world.
She sighs, delicately. “It’s all terribly vulgar, isn’t it? Back in my day, we had the decency to be hated for our actual decadence. Now people are despised for having too many followers and not enough original thoughts.”
She gestures toward a hologram of a modern politician. “That one—he reminds me of Louis. Soft, indecisive, and always asking someone else what to do. At least Louis had the good sense to lose his head after the revolution. These days, they lose theirs before they’re elected.”
I ask her about the infamous quote—“Let them eat cake.”
She rolls her eyes. “I never said that. What I did say was, ‘Let them eat content.’ But apparently that didn’t test well with the peasants.”
She’s fascinated by TikTok. “It’s like the guillotine, but with filters. One swipe and you’re gone. Heads roll, reputations crumble, and all in under sixty seconds. Magnifique!”
She’s less impressed by democracy. “It’s just monarchy with worse outfits. At least we had robes and powdered wigs. Now it’s all ill-fitting suits and slogans that sound like rejected perfume ads.”
When I ask her what advice she’d give to today’s leaders, she doesn’t hesitate.
“Hire better tailors. And if you must oppress the masses, do it with style. Velvet tyranny is still tyranny, but at least it photographs well.”
She pauses, then adds: “Also, never underestimate the power of a good scandal. I was accused of everything from orgies to espionage. And yet, here I am—immortalized in pop culture, anime, and overpriced macarons.”
As our interview ends, she offers me a parting gift: a powdered wig embedded with Wi-Fi and a playlist of Baroque remixes. “You’ll need it,” she says. “History doesn’t repeat—it reloads.”— Filed by Aether Quill, histomythic journalist, time-traveling satirist, and occasional confidant to the tragically misunderstood.
Quillverse, with Aurora and Aether as contributors, is now a regular Monday feature of History’s Parrot. Where truth is sacred, language is weaponized, and silence is no longer an option… and, a dose of satire is a good way to start the week
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"My dear soul, flee from the worthless, stay close only to those with a pure heart. Like attracts like. A crow will lead you to the graveyard, a parrot to a lump of sugar." ~ Rumi