The Rise of the Megaguild
Another brilliant invention of the hamites is the megaguild, which is an organization dedicated to the production of Manna. Great teams of Elves assembled in large workshop operate many MannaMakers and are able to produce huge quantities of Manna. A megaguild might own many such workshops and control many Elves. Trolls can buy “parts” of the megaguild and become a “partholder.” Much of the huge amount of glitter gelt that the megaguild generates is then distributed to the partholders. This is thus trolltoll in its purest form, since the essence of trolltoll is the acquisition of Manna (or its substitute, glitter gelt) purely by ownership of something valuable. Another great boon provided by the megaguilds is that a strict hierarchy of Trolls is required to supervise and discipline the Elves in the organization, the great benefits of hierarchy can be maintained despite the theoretical equality of all demanded by trelvmacht.
You can readily see that despite the universal acceptance of the dangerously radical theory of trelvmacht, the Elves are kept properly in their place. The obvious difficulty is that the Elves, while not being particularly bright, are apt to notice that in spite of trelvmacht, they still must apply their shveice from morning til dark while getting very little for it, that the Trolls are richer and more powerful than ever, and that this new and much vaunted equality does not seem very equal after all.
The Uses of Idealism. The secret is to use ideas that appeal to the Elves' better natures: the ideas of Freedom, Individualism, and Patriotism. No one, after all, is going to be against freedom, and as the Geltweltians carefully explain it, freedom is impossible without the sacred right of private trollstuff. Freedom means many things, but the most important is the right to collect trolltolls for the use of trollstuf. For Elves, freedom mostly means the freedom not to belong to subversive organizations. Occasionally Bad Elves attempt to organize into Elfguilds as a way to counter the power that Trolls have in their megaguilds, but it is carefully explained to them that that would be a violation of Freedom and Individuality. The laws prohibit such organizations to prevent the Elves from compromising their freedom. Occasionally Bad Elves are so bold as to argue that the megaguilds are giant organizations to which the Trolls sacrifice their freedom and individuality for the sake of power. The Trolls patiently explain that this is a naïve and childish argument since the law has declared that megaguilds are Individuals and are thus granted all the rights and privileges that are accorded to every trelf. Sometimes the Bad Elves stubbornly persist in their arguments, but that is what public floggings and executions are for.
