In Amsterdam’s central train station, there was a special waiting room, technically for the use of Saskia or whoever was currently king or queen, but never actually used because it was so outrageously non-norMAL.
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“Who writes it?” “Parliament. In the Netherlands we call it the States General.” “And who you reading it to?” “The States General.” “So you could just be cut out of the loop and save yourself the trouble!”
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Now, trying to get Dutch people to prepare for disasters was a little like trying to get English people to watch football on the telly or Americans to buy guns.
Neal Stephenson: Termination Shock