Story prompt: Your co-worker was always the funny type, cracking jokes, making people laugh with silly and nonsensical antics, being the butt of the joke and laughing alongside their fellow co-workers, and taking nothing very seriously. A comedian in every aspect. One day, they ask you to proofread a story he had been writing down, which you accept.

Thinking that their story was just as comedic and unserious as he was, you look through the copy in the flash drive they gave you and expect to get a few laughs. And while their are those comedic moments associated with your co-worker, there was more to his creation, despite its rather silly premise.

The story, titled “Borders of Beverages”, was set in a post-apocalyptic world where new powers emerged from the ashes, based on, of all things, beverages. The story focused on three main powers, The Republic of Tea, The Kingdom of Coffee and the Hot Chocolate Empire. In-between the three, they struggle to maintain power, sovereignty and conflicts, while they also vie for the attention and good graces of what they considered their greatest potential ally, the Federation of Cream, Milk and Sugar.

While the main points of view comes from the Federation of Cream, Milk and Sugar's chancellor, Amelia Azucar, The Republic of Tea's President Sebastian, The Kingdom of Coffee's King Kofeyin III and the Hot Chocolate Empire's Empress Isabelle XVIII, the points of view shift to other characters as well.

You continue to read and learn about this story your co-worker had written down. Despite its premise, the comedic aspects were still overshadowed with themes such as political drama, corruption, economic status, culture, threats of war, maintaining stability, social discrimination, authoritarianism, democracy, and rebellion. Coupled with well-thought out action sequences.

Each power's beverage permeated the very society and culture of each power, from architecture, social hierarchy, religion, work, leisure, and daily life. Their beverage of choice was as important a liquid as blood.

The descriptions of each power wasn't random. The Republic of Tea had elected representatives under President Sebastian, The Kingdom of Coffee is based on hereditary rule and has a number of small vassal states under its thumb, the Hot Chocolate Empire engages in imperialist and colonial campaigns, and the Federation of Cream, Milk and Sugar were once separate nations before uniting under a centralized power and becoming the Federation it is today.

Even the lore, such as how "Azucar" is not Chancellor Amelia's last name, but a title given to other Chancellors using the word "sugar" in other languages, as hinted with the former Chancellors, Suzanna Sucre and Tatiana Tang, as well as how the Kingdom of Coffee's monarch must always have a first name based on any language's version of "caffeine", made for compelling implications.

This catches you off guard. The story looks to have been well researched and complex, its comedic aspects one of the more minor parts of the story as a whole, not what you would expect from a person like your co-worker. How long had this been in the making?

You continue to read the story, acting as both proofreader and as a captivated reader.