Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
This forum is used with the NationStates web-game designed and run by Max Barry. While not officially affiliated, this serves as the regional forum for the regions: Middle East, African Continent, American Continent, Asian Continent, and European Continent.

You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and can "read only".

In order to get the most out of these forums, please become a member and read this guide - http://z3.invisionfree.com/nationstates/index.php?showtopic=3060


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
To Civilize Darkest Africa; The Origins of Kurtz
Topic Started: Mar 5 2006, 10:23 PM (106 Views)
Wadj
Member Avatar
The Very Model of a Modern Major General
OOC: I haven't done very much with Le Congo Leopold for a while, so I've decided to explain the origins of Kurtz for my own, and, I hope, for your amusement.

To Civilize Darkest Africa:
The Origins of Kurtz

Part 1: The Pride of Antwerp

Adolphe Kurtz was born at exactly midnight between April 30th and May 1st, 1867 in Antwerp, Belgium. From the very beginning he was an unusual child. He never cried, ever. He was born silent, and remained that way. His parents thought that he was mute until one day, when Kurtz was eighteen months old, he began to speak. His mother was so amazed that she sent for the priest, whom she had asked to pray for the child, to come and see the fruits of his labor. The priest, who had promptly forgotten Mrs. Kurtz's request after meeting with her, was flabbergasted.

"Surely God has heard our prayers!" he pronounced grandly to Mrs, Kurtz. "Good things come to those who are virtuous, Mrs. Kurtz, and you have indeed been virtuous. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must be off." The priest hurried out of the house, shaking his head in amazement.

As Kurtz grew older, his oddities became more and more apparent. He had a strange aversion to the church that he attended with his parents every Sunday. He never actually refused to go, but while inside he did not seem to fit in. His eyes would flit back and forth furtively through the entire mass, and when the service was over he was always the first out of the church. His parents thought that this behavior was very strange, but they never said anything about it.

Kurtz had many interests, but the only one that he revealed to his parents was a passion for cartography. He would spend hours staring into maps, tracing rivers with his fingers, contemplating coastlines. To encourage this hobby, Mr. Kurtz would take him to the rare manuscript library for his birthday and allow him to pore over ancient maps.

At school, Kurtz was a model student. Though he almost never spoke up in class, he soaked up knowledge like a sponge, and amazed his teachers with his ability to understand every subject they taught him, from Latin to Algebra. His academic accomplishments earned him several awards, and Mr. and Mrs. Kurtz began to call their son the pride of Antwerp, a name that stayed with him for his entire life in that city.

But underneath his quiet exterior, Kurtz was restless. He wanted to move on. School bored him. He could learn everything that his vapid teachers spewed out by himself through books. But he never said anything to his parents, and when they sent him to the University of Brussels, he went without argument. He knew, however, that things were going to change in his life.


Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Rhadamanthus
Member Avatar
Legitimist

Looks interesting! Great start.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Wadj
Member Avatar
The Very Model of a Modern Major General
The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much.

--Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness

Part 2: A Mission of Mercy

Kurtz arrived at the University of Brussels on August 21st, 1885. But college bored him. It was much like his former schooling: a dry old man stood at the head of a lecture hall, and droned on about physics, or history, or the great literature of the world.

Outside of the classroom, however, Brussels was buzzing with excitement. Belgium had recieved it's first colony! King Leopold II had recently formed the Congo Free State with himself as the sovereign. Every priest was pontificating about the Mission of Mercy, to help the poor lost African lambs, to bring them Civilization and Progress. People from all over the world were signing up to help in the humanitarian mission in Africa. Boats filled with ammunition andmissionaries left Belgium daily, sailing towards the humanitarian project that was Leopold's Congo.

Kurtz wanted very badly to be one of those people. He wrote to his parents and asked if he could leave immediately. They wrote back, praising him for his desire to improve the lives of others. They agreed that he could go to the Congo after he had completed three years at the University.

The three years were some of the slowest in Kurtz's life. Each day crawled on, but each day also brought him closer to his goal. Soon he would be in Africa. Soon he would be in the Congo, helping the Mission of Mercy, fighting the evil slave trade, and attempting to bring Civilization and Progress to Darkest Africa.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
flumes
Member Avatar
CLEVELAND ROCKS!
You have me hooked!!!
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Wadj
Member Avatar
The Very Model of a Modern Major General
flumes
Mar 21 2006, 04:42 PM
You have me hooked!!!

I'm glad you liked it. Have you ever read Heart of Darkness? If you like this, then you'd like Heart of Darkness. It's 10000 times better. Also, I hope to write the third installment by the end of this week.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Noriega
Member Avatar
Resident Hobbit
Wadj
Mar 22 2006, 12:21 AM
flumes
Mar 21 2006, 04:42 PM
You have me hooked!!!

I'm glad you liked it. Have you ever read Heart of Darkness? If you like this, then you'd like Heart of Darkness. It's 10000 times better. Also, I hope to write the third installment by the end of this week.

Lookin forward to it.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
New Harumf
Member Avatar
Bloodthirsty Unicorn
Oh, then if you are following Conrad, then this IS going to get interesting!!
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
flumes
Member Avatar
CLEVELAND ROCKS!
Wadj
Mar 22 2006, 12:21 AM
flumes
Mar 21 2006, 04:42 PM
You have me hooked!!!

I'm glad you liked it. Have you ever read Heart of Darkness? If you like this, then you'd like Heart of Darkness. It's 10000 times better. Also, I hope to write the third installment by the end of this week.

Heard of it, but never read it. I will have to pick it up...
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
« Previous Topic · African Continent · Next Topic »
Add Reply