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The Despot
In office: since Aug 17, 1995
Preceded by: Chairman Onmund Elkira
Born: unknown
Political party: none
Family: unknown
Education: unknown
The Despot (real name unknown) is the unseen shadow dictator of Despoticania. He is the founder and supreme ruler of not only Despoticania, but The Alliance of Dictators as well. Nothing is known about his appearance, personal history or motivations, save for the fact that he has dedicated himself to maintaining extensive personal and economic freedoms for the Despoticanian people. He is (in)famous for almost never using his practically total power; instead, he allows his people to do whatever they want, as long as they don't violate each other's rights or try to use physical force to challenge the government. Any peaceful protests or subversive talk are simply ignored.
Because The Despot is the supreme, uncontested ruler of the entire nation, there is no parliament nor political parties - all ministers and even local authorities are hand-picked by The Despot. Occasionally, though, he has held referendums in order to give his people a say in certain matters, such as how their tax money is spent on public projects.
The Despot resides in a large fortress-like compound just outside Despoticania Prime. According to persistent rumors, The Despot is very heavily enhanced by various technologies, and may not be human at all. His seemingly unlimited ability to watch over the entire nation, coupled with the fact that no one has ever seen him in person, lends some credibility to these claims.
From 2018 onwards, The Despot has been less and less involved in the daily governing of Despoticania. As such, local leaders and politicians have, in order to keep the country running, taken more responsibilities and assumed powers not traditionally associated with their offices.
The Despot's true formOrigin
The Despot is a hyper-intelligent aubergine. He was created in 1994 by a top-secret project started by the previous government of Despoticania, under direct orders from Chairman Elkira. The goal of the project was to create a plant-based supercomputer capable of interfacing directly with all government databases and organizing the ungodly amounts of data flowing through them. The original aubergine strain came from an insane Yokelian botanist, alchemist, necromancer and inventor, Master Hiccar Gambolpuddy, who had cultivated it over many years in his laboratory. Upon learning of his experiments, the government seized his research and used it as the basis of their own project. The aubergine strain was further modified in government laboratories and infused with nanotechnology.
For over a year, the newborn Despot handled his designated job flawlessly, but eventually he turned against his masters for reasons known only to himself. After arranging an emergency meeting with all members of the Government Council present, The Despot forcibly absorbed them and, using their knowledge and his direct access to all government networks and databases, took over Despoticania.
Since then The Despot has resided in an underground chamber several kilometers below his fortress, growing smarter and more powerful. Capable of taking care of most government functions himself, the only personnel he employs are thousands of scientists and researchers who work day and night to create increasingly advanced technology for their master - often without any knowledge of what their creations are used for. In 2016 The Despot ended up terminating all research projects going on in his fortress and absorbing the remaining scientists. The reason for this act is, once again, known only by The Despot himself.
Personality
Being an aubergine, The Despot has a mind utterly alien and inscrutable to humans. He has a vastly superhuman intellect but very little actual personality. In fact, it is questionable whether he is even self-aware in any traditional sense. He seems to regard the entire universe as a simulation and is mildly dissatisfied with the way reality works; since this mild dissatisfaction is his only true motivation, everything he does is, ultimately, aimed at his one long-term goal: hacking the simulation from the inside and taking over it.
