Die Gstettensaga: The Rise of Echsenfriedl

Pjölk, the aging publisher who built a monopoly on printed news, views the growing community of tech-savvy nerds as a threat to his empire. He dispatches the journalist and technician on a dangerous mission to conduct a live tele-o-vision interview with the mythical Echsenfriedl, hoping to either co-opt or discredit this influential figure who commands a devoted following among the nerds.

The Google Wars was a global conflict between two last remaining superpowers, a tech-driven giant and a rising nation, that brought civilization to a standstill in the early 21st century. Decades later, radioactive dust still settles on the battlegrounds as humanity struggles to rebuild from the ashes.

The Postal Service operates as the defender of civilization's remaining order at the border. When Fratt and Alalia attempt to cross into Niederpröll with their makeshift broadcasting vehicle, the authorities seize their gear, leaving them stranded and forcing them to continue on foot through dangerous territory.

These are descendants of farmers who survived the Google Wars by retreating to the wasteland. They practice a bizarre cargo-cult culture that worships relics of office supplies, bureaucracy, and faded memories of European Union agricultural grants. They nearly sacrifice the duo in rituals centered around these bureaucratic artifacts.

Philine-Codec Comtesse de Cybersdorf once married Thurnher von Pjölk but suffered a violent rift with him that resulted in the loss of her leg. She reveals that Pjölk only performed the public-facing role while Echsenfriedl was the true inventor behind the era's greatest innovations.

Echsenfriedl is not merely a reclusive genius but a basilisk, a mythical creature whose gaze can turn people to stone. He reveals this nature when Fratt and Alalia finally reach his lair, turning Ayn to stone as proof of his power.

Ayn guides Fratt and Alalia into Echsenfriedl's lair, but once inside, Echsenfriedl reveals his true nature as a basilisk and petrifies her with his gaze. This demonstration serves as proof of his identity and power to the newcomers.

Echsenfriedl reveals that Pjölk planned to murder all the early adopters, the nerds who followed him, by ordering a single broadcast that would expose them to Echsenfriedl's petrifying gaze. Pjölk wanted to eliminate this tech-savvy movement that threatened his media monopoly.

When Echsenfriedl reveals during the live broadcast that Pjölk intended to kill the nerds with his petrifying eyes, the listeners react with horror and anger. This revelation sparks a backlash against Pjölk's regime from within his own offices, as his manipulation and betrayal become undeniable.

After surviving the encounter, Echsenfriedl hires both Alalia and Fratt to help build a new media empire based on his extraordinary technologies. They join him and broadcast live as his followers, a lynch mob of book-burning nerds, unite behind a radical technological future.

Tele-o-vision is a live-broadcasting technology that the protagonists attempt to use to interview Echsenfriedl. Alalia, the idealistic technician, views it as a tool for social change and technological progress, while Pjölk views it as a threat to his printed-media dominance.

Despite witnessing Ayn's petrification and learning of Pjölk's schemes, Alalia and Fratt choose to work with Echsenfriedl. Alalia sees it as an opportunity to advance her technological agenda for social change, while Fratt appears swept along by the momentum. Their choice represents a ambiguous victory, escaping the old order but embracing a potentially more radical one.

The revelation that Echsenfriedl is a basilisk transforms the story from a post-apocalyptic quest into a mythic fairy-tale. It explains his reclusive nature, his immense power over his followers, and the literal petrification of those who see him. This twist also completes the satirical framing, as the 'genius' the nerds worship is literally a monster.