That display of power and money was very impassive to the simple-minded visitors of the palace, but the bed itself took the lion’s share of the interest. The bed was meant to look like it was just a pile of rare carpets intermingled with some animal pelts. Again, it was in the style of the traditional Mongolian yurt but where the luxury was in abundance. It was not very high and yet, not too low. It was just of the right height for the person of the President Vagabundi statue. In general, it looked like a pile of traditional goods used by the hundreds of generations of the Mongols for the rest and the sleep in a tent. It seemed comfortable, so old-style and so authentic. But, the visitors did not know that the middle of the bed contained a very expensive but, nonetheless, comfortable mattress from America called the Tempur-Pedic Mattress. Including the shipping cost, it was more than an average Mongol made in a year, but the average Mongol was not buying it either. The average Mongol may not even know that something like that existed. And, the President could afford even a few of them if needed. That was the difference between the President of the country and the average Mongol that did not need it and could rest just on a carpet, new or old. It did not make any difference for a tired Mongol who just feasted on Kumis. The fermented camel and horse milk did it every time and, if it did not do it quite right, one had to drink more of it. And, they did. The salesman claimed that the foam in the mattress had memory, and it was actually the space-age material explicitly created for NASA by significant scientists from Europe.
The Secret Service agents stated that they saw this foam and the mattresses sold in the Walmart store they visited in America. They were working tourists and needed to see everything. The state paid for the trip, and many questions about America had to be answered. Should Mongolia lean toward the United States or toward China? China was closer, but America looked better. China seemed like Mongolia but somewhat more prominent and better off. But, if the cards were played right with America, Mongolia could look better than China yet, not bigger. Still, there was no Walmart store specializing in Chinese products in Mongolia. Just give it time, give it time.
China was just next door, and the Chinese goods were all over the place and not all of them legal. The secret service could not check any information related to Walmart or the products sold there. So, maybe the Tempur-Pedic Mattress was, but perhaps it was not there. Nonetheless, the President was happy, and this report was buried with the rest of the dubious intelligence. President Vagabundi loved his bed, and he firmly believed that only the unique talent of the Mongolian craftsmen could construct such a miracle. What a delightful bed it was, and it had everything he needed. No, he did not have to get up in the middle of the night to get a drink of water or some Kumis. Everything was within the bed and close by, no matter where you were at the moment. He could recall many good memories involving this bed. The bed itself was a good memory. He loved to be the President of such a country like Mongolia. Where else the President had to work so little, be treated like a God, and get rewarded as a Mongolian Khan? Where else? In America? Genghis Khan did not have a Palace like that, and the tributes from the conquered nations were not of this magnitude.
Still, it was more than enough for the simple Mongol taste that was not very simple back then. Could the American President live like that? He did not think so. The American President was a puppet of his people, and the Mongolian President had the people for puppets. Asia was always Asia and no matter in what country it was. He loved to think of himself as a puppet master of the Mongolian people, but he did it in a quiet of his mind. Who knows what happens if people hear of that. They always were wild people. Him and his beloved country. Him and his precious people. Him and his women… Well, let’s not go there for now. That could be a slippery slope. Even the President should have some decency and apply it when needed. It was not the wild West even in the most savage of times. No President was ever impeached in Mongolia, and not even a loud word was ever said against him. Could a woman become the President of Mongolia? A strong woman… A woman ready for blood? A Genghis Khan type of women? Yes, but only in her dreams. What is it, America? And, even there, in America, it happened just in her dreams. Still, it was a great dream, full of fantasies and profits and a very disappointing awakening. Not too many people would be alive after that, but she, the American one, was still well and kicking. What a shame, what a shame, and she was not in prison. Maybe she was too mean and too greedy not to survive or just fade away. Could they do something like that in Mongolia? His mother-in-law could. She was mean enough.
“What is it, Mr. President? Where is it? Are you okay? Where you hurt?” The senior security officer was shielding the President moving his gun in a wide arch and taking in the entire scenery at the same time.
He was of the Mongolian descent, and that was obvious. Yet, it was more in his attitude that in his looks. Was he a purebred Mongol? Was anyone a purebred Mongol? Anywhere? Was anyone purebred at all? Most likely, everyone in Europe and Asia had some of the Mongol blood, and every Mongol had in his veins something of the others. Even the big world could be just a small village when it comes to ancestry. That’s what you get when you travel a lot and not too busy working but socializing with every opportunity and without one. The security officer was born in the Soviet Union, not too far from the Mongolian border, served in the Soviet military and then, in the security forces of the USSR. The Soviet crowd and prison control doctrine dictated that the best result came when the security forces were staffed with the citizens that came from far away places and were not of the same race with the citizens they had to control. For instance, in the central part of Russia or Ukraine, they would employ troops coming from the Caucasus or Central Asia. Yet, in Central Asia, they may employ the Ukrainians or the Georgians, Armenians or anyone else who was not from there. Divide and conquer. People did not understand each other did not know the customs, and hated each other’s guts. They were brutal when it came to be controlling the crowd and guarding a penitentiary. That was one of the reasons why everyone hated everyone else in the Soviet Union of universal brotherly love. Of course, there were more reasons, and all of them were based on racism. That’s how you divide and conquer. Yes, the socialist union was divided quite well and conquered without a doubt.
The Soviet-made bayonets and the AK-47s were perfect for the job. The Soviet tanks abstractedly “plowed” the fields of the peaceful nations that were called brothers. Was there the brotherly love somewhere? Anywhere… In the end, the locals, no matter where the locality was, lost time and time again, and that made them angrier and angrier. That anger had to go somewhere, and occasionally they said “NO.” And, the rules became tighter. It was not a healthy situation getting worse by the minute. Everyone was becoming enemy of everyone else and fast. The universal brotherly love was never there in the first place being weaponized with every opportunity the leaders had.