Kalistan

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Princess Jennifer refrains from commentary on International Relations
"My Brother can speak for himself," said House Ananto Head
Eveari, Grand Duchy of Ananto
February 27, 5737


Princess Jennifer Ananto-Rosenfeld at Ananto Gem Vault

"Well, as you can see here, we are in the middle of our annual audit of the contents of the Gem Vault," said Her Highness, Princess Jennifer Ananto-Rosenfeld, as she gave a tour to Alan Rohr of La Moda. "We decided that we are going to start sorting the gems into their own rooms. We have 12 of these kind of hallways, and things are all pretty much always in disarray. They fill one of these crates full of gemstones and then just pile it anywhere. It takes so long to inventory and audit this stuff that by the time we're done for the year, we have to start over again. It's a real pain in the neck sometimes to have just so many gems."

The gemstones belong to House Ananto, and Princess Jennifer Ananto-Rosenfeld is responsible for knowing what is in here. "We have figures from last year of course, and we know what we've purchased, so its always a game of making sure the numbers match. Rather than going through and counting every single gemstone, the way we did when we had to rebuild the vault after the Eveari earthquake in my Mother's reign, we now more or less weigh each of these crates. It gives us a carat figure rather than like the total number of gems. Its estimated that there are millions in here, all in their crates. All on their shelves. We will probably never know the exact number again."

The sheer value of the gemstones in the Ananto Gem Vault is believed to be in the hundreds of billions of Imperial Pesos. "It's difficult to say what it is right now," said the Princess, "because spot price for each of these stones changes daily. Some stones are clearer than others, some have minute flaws in them or little cracks that you can see with a lens but not with the naked eye. Some are larger, some are smaller. We work on averages anymore, and the last thing we came to, was about 130 Billion Imperial Pesos in stones and precious metals. But that number is very conservative and we add to it annually. The collection itself is utterly priceless, so putting a number on it kind of doesn't really do it justice."

While discussing the vast wealth of the gem horde, the Princess was asked if there was ever any thought given to using some of this wealth to alleviate poverty in the world. "No," said the Princess. "Look: it is not an individual's job to do what governments refuse to do. In Kalistan we believe there is a major role for the state to play in ensuring a good standard of living for the People. Our state works day in and day out to ensure that people have enough to eat to live a healthy life, medical care when they need it, education, a guaranteed job, a home with only a nominal rent payment, and every other thing. House Ananto's responsibility to our society is to pay our taxes. And we do that. We pay every cent we owe, and our Government then spends that money, along with the contributions of all citizens, to ensure that all in Kalistan have a good life. The idea that my Brother could, or should, impoverish himself and his children so people who are far away can eat is ridiculous."

Rohr then asked about humanitarian aid, referring to a comment made by the Finance Minister eariler this month. "The problem people in other nations face are systemic problems," said the Princess. "I am not a theorist, like my mother, but I know well that systemic problems require systemic solutions, or you do not solve anything. You merely put a bandaid on the problem and keep them alive today to starve tomorrow. Wars in other nations are not our fault. Starvation and homelessness in nations in Dovani or Majatra are as much a problem for us as homelessness in Kalistan is for them. We didn't cause any of it, and we can send 500 Million in gold to them and it won't fix the problem. The only thing that will is that they themselves do something about the people who are immiserating them. That's not Kalistan, that is not House Ananto. But its also not the East's responsibility to pick up the slack for chronically poor government in the west. It just is not. We have our own house to maintain and I'd say we are doing a pretty good job doing that. For our people--the people my Brother, the Emperor has a responsibility to."

The Princess waved off additional opportunities to comment on world affairs. "Look: I am not the Sovereign, alright? I am a glorified bookkeeper and the public face of my family. That is all. My Brother can speak for himself. What I am here to do is oversee the audit of this gem vault, and I will be happy to answer any questions regarding that, or anything I am actually responsible for, but if its all the same, I don't think I do my Brother's policy much justice, because it is not my particular skill." She also refused to comment on recent critique in the foreign press over conduct of the Schismatic Crisis. "Kalistan is not perfect, but at least we treat our adversaries with respect and are willing to talk to them to resolve our differences. That's a lot more than can be said for a lot of nations, especially nations that like to run their mouths in foreign newspapers."

@LaModa