Tyranny of Steel

A young Bantu man by the name of Bakari stood on the shores of the southernmost coast of Africa. He was the son of his tribe ’s chieftain and was next in line to inherit his father ’s position. Currently, he was gathering shells with the intention of trading them to the tribe ’s craftsman in exchange for the item which the local hunter desired for his meat.

Africa was a large continent with many diverse cultures, however after you reached a certain point southward of the Sahara, they devolved from fledgling civilizations to hunter-gatherer tribes. Because of this, the idea of currency was foreign to Bakari and his people. Instead, they relied on the more primitive system of bartering.

While collecting the shells on the sandy beaches of South Africa, Bakari noticed something in the distance on the water ’s surface. He tried his best to gaze into the ocean, but could not make out what the foreign object was. However, the longer he stared at it, the larger the object became. Naturally, as a primitive tribesman, Bakari did not understand basic mathematics and was incapable of calculating the distance between him and this giant vessel.

As time passed, more of these ships became visible, and soon Bakari could see the smoke that their engines produced. Such a strange sight bewildered the young man. He had no idea what these strange objects were, or what purpose they served. However, as they drew near, Bakari decided to hide behind a large rock, not knowing whether these alien devices were hostile.

Eventually five armored frigates and three transport vessels became visible as Bakari struggled to understand what he was witnessing. It was not until they had anchored in the bay, and dropped their landing craft, did the man understand that these were very large boats, carrying people from a foreign land.

The people who were on board these vessels were strange to the African tribesman. They had pale skin, golden hair, and blue eyes. Their features were more angular and refined than his own, and they stood quite a bit taller than him.

These foreigners were dressed in clothing that was not just grass skirts and animal hides like his own people wore. Instead, they adorned elaborate arid pattern uniforms and wore painted metallic hats, while wielding strange weapons. Or at least Bakari thought these items were weapons, based upon how the men carried them.

At the head of these soldiers was a one eyed man, dressed in a far more elaborate uniform than his standard soldiers, and by his side was the most beautiful woman that Bakari had ever laid eyes on. She was dressed in a similar sense of fashion as the soldiers, but with a skirt and knee-high boots instead of trousers.