Dreams of Change: Gershgorin Dmitry and the Transformation of Europe

As the sun came up, and the city awoke, the grey concrete walls of the large building loomed over him. The building had been a small school once. Now it stood empty, a relic of a time that people tried to forget. Unused classrooms lay silent, their textbooks never opened again. Locked away in a dusty archive.

He looked up at one of the windows high above him. He wasn't quite sure which one it was, but he knew she would be there. Watching him.

He stepped through the door, his hands trembling as he gripped his briefcase tightly to his chest. His heart pounded as he approached the reception desk and pressed the buzzer for attention.

"Yes?" The voice was calm and gentle, yet still with an edge of authority. As if she had been waiting for his arrival.

"Empress..." He said quietly, nervously looking around at the other men and women who were also entering the building. "My name is Dmitry Gershgorin." He pulled out his ID card from his wallet and placed it on the table for her inspection. "I am here to sign up for your program." His eyes flicked up to look at her through his long eyelashes, searching for any reaction in her face or body language that would tell him whether she remembered him or not. She remained calm and still while she scanned his ID card with an electronic device before handing it back to him without saying a word.

After a moment's hesitation he continued: "You will see that I have already signed all of your forms." His voice was slightly shaky as he spoke. His eyes flicked up towards the window again, then back down to look at her feet in front of him. He wanted so badly to look at her face again instead of staring at her shoes all day long - especially since she always wore such beautiful shoes - but he was too nervous even to lift his head as he waited for her response. She seemed like such a powerful figure that he could hardly believe this woman was actually just another human being like himself; someone who just happened to be born into a powerful position and had made choices that changed other people's lives forever, including his own life! But now she was here, speaking with him as though they were equals...

Finally, after what felt like an eternity but was probably only about ten seconds, she spoke: "Thank you." Her voice sounded warm and friendly, although slightly distant as if she were speaking from another room rather than right in front of him where he could reach out and touch her if he dared...

Dmitry had first met Empress when he was young - very young - barely older than a toddler really... A teacher had taken him aside during lunchtime one day because some students were bullying him while they ate their sandwiches around the table in their classroom. They called him names like 'weakling' and 'sissy' and threw food at him to try to make him cry; but Dmitry did not cry - not even when they threw his sandwich across the room so that it landed on top of one of their friends' heads who started screaming loudly... So they kept teasing him more and more until eventually one boy picked Dmitry up by his shirt collar and held him over the window ledge grinning maliciously into his face as if daring Dmitry to jump over the side with them... As if daring Dmitry to die... It was then that she appeared suddenly from behind them like a dark angel stepping out from behind clouds in the sky; walking across their desks and chairs as if they weren't even there at all; like this building wasn't even there; like this world didn't even exist anymore... All that existed were two pairs of eyes - hers so bright green that they seemed almost purple in colour; gleaming like polished emeralds yet also burning with fire - burning with anger... And theirs: dull grey stones on faces without features; without fear or regret or joy either; just blank slate-like faces on bodies dressed in black uniforms bending forwards over rows of desks; every single body exactly alike except for one variation: every single body had turned its head towards Empress as she marched down their aisle towards them... Every single body stared back at her eyes with wide pupils like black holes swallowing light itself...

She stopped right between those boys holding Dmitry by his shirt collar by the window ledge above them all standing below; staring right into their cold grey eyes burning red hot now like coals heated by flames deep inside them... And then there was silence among all those frozen bodies while they waited in fear what might happen next... Until finally Empress spoke: "Put my son down now." Her voice was clear and sharp like glass shattering upon stone; cutting through all of their fear until every last person stood perfectly still awaiting her instructions... Until everyone waited perfectly still except for those two boys standing on top of desks looking down at her small frame defiantly with only one thought running through both their minds: *You can't stop us.*