The Hollow Earth Council Convenes
Scene: The Grand Chamber of the Hollow Earth Council A vast cavern lit by glowing crystals. Enormous stone pillars rise from the floor, inscribed with the sacred glyphs of the Hollow Earth Doctrine. The council, a group of robed lizard people, sits in a circular formation, hissing and murmuring in agitation. At the centre, the High Chancellor, a regal lizard with an ornate head frill, bangs his ceremonial staff.
High Chancellor: "Order! Order! We gather today to address a most grievous heresy! There are those among us—traitors to our kind—who claim that the Earth has... a surface."
(The lizards gasp. One faints. Another hisses so violently they fall off their chair.)
Councilmember Sslithar: "This is dangerous propaganda! The very idea of a ‘surface’ is absurd! We all know the Earth is a vast, endless cavern, and to claim otherwise is the talk of fools and infiltrators!"
Councilmember Grizz’Thak: "And yet... some among us have spoken of strange occurrences! ‘Sky.’ ‘Clouds.’ ‘A thing called ‘Sun.’ These are lies of the Deep State!"
(A murmur spreads through the chamber. Some council members nod in solemn agreement, others scoff.)
Councilmember Zezzrik: "Perhaps we should hear from one of these so-called ‘Surface Truthers.’ If only to humiliate them publicly."
(The chamber doors creak open, revealing a nervous, spectacled lizard clutching a stack of forbidden scrolls. This is Professor Slagorth, a disgraced Hollow Earth academic.)
Professor Slagorth: "Great council, I stand before you not as a heretic, but as a seeker of truth! I have seen things! Strange lights above, a blue void stretching forever—beyond the ceiling of our great home!"
High Chancellor: "BLASPHEMY! The ceiling is solid rock! What you have seen is clearly a malfunction of your weak, impressionable mind!"
Professor Slagorth: "I have proof! Strange creatures walk this so-called ‘surface.’ They call themselves... ‘humans’!"
(The council erupts in chaos. Lizard scholars tear at their robes. A priest smashes an ancient Hollow Earth tablet in a fit of rage.)
Councilmember Sslithar: "Humans? Next, you'll tell us they have ‘buildings’ and ‘governments!’ Lies! Lies perpetuated by those who seek to undermine our society!"
Professor Slagorth: "You don’t have to take my word for it! Behold, the forbidden artefact I retrieved!" (He dramatically unveils a television screen, which flickers to life, showing grainy footage of cities, cars, and people walking about.)
Councilmember Grizz’Thak: "Witchcraft! Trickery! Clearly a deepfake created by our enemies in the Anti-Hollow League!"
High Chancellor: "ENOUGH! Professor Slagorth, you are guilty of spreading dangerous falsehoods. For this crime, you are sentenced to exile in the Deepest Depths, where you may ponder your foolishness among the eldritch horrors that lurk below!"
(The council cheers. Slagorth is dragged away, shouting.)
Professor Slagorth: "You fools! You’re living in a cave! A cave! The surface is real! The SURFACE IS REA—" (His voice is cut off as the doors slam shut.)
(The High Chancellor adjusts his ceremonial robe, looking smug.)
High Chancellor: "Well, I think we’ve all learned an important lesson today: the only truth is the truth we already believe! Meeting adjourned!"
(The council erupts in applause, congratulating themselves for preserving the sacred status quo. Meanwhile, far above, the ‘surface dwellers’ continue their day, blissfully unaware of the lizard people in the depths below—who remain utterly convinced they do not exist.)
THE END.