g Jubilee. What I didnt know was that the Jubilee kings and queens were chosen in prison by a lottery. My lottery card bore the outline of a wolfs paw. This meant nothing to me since a number of other prisoners had similar symbol on their lots. But through a combination of the wolf, the configuration of the stars in the sky and my tattoos, I was declared king and taken to the royal palace high atop the World Poplar.
"I loved being king. Pretty girls-exotic dancers who were now the legislature-would bring me fruit and legal documents. I often signed the document without reading them, assuming I would learn what they were eventually.
"We passed new Jubilee laws constantly, then would make it illegal to enforce them. The laws were often deliberately ludicrous. It became illegal to carry an small dog while smoking a pipe. It was further illegal to attempt sexual relations with an animal while either party was on fire. No one could smile while wearing white, or frown while in the presence of a man in stripes. Those found guilty of these charges might find themselves banished to the sewers with nothing but a candle and a baseball bat. Or they might be made Archbishop.
"The only law that remained constant and coldly rational throughout Jubilee was simple: Everyone on Montes Lunae, resident or guest, must participate in Jubilee wholeheartedly while he or she was there. This was a hard thing for some people. It was a hard thing for my family.
"Eventually, my mother found herself subordinate to a man she didnt like, a marriage broker who was also a card cheat and a libertine-two things my mother couldnt abide. She refused to serve the man when it was her time. When the broker insisted, my father and brothers beat him. My family was arre
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