THE MINISTRY OF MOST COMPETANT AFFAIRS Veridora: On the Care and Feeding of Democracy (The Veridora Papers, Book One) In the city-state of Veridora , where every aspect of life is administered by a ministry, the newly established Ministry of Mostly Competent Affairs exists to keep civilisation “adequately functional.” When Archibald Cringe , a reformed fraudster with a gift for improvisation, accidentally inherits the post of Minister, he becomes the unlikely figurehead of a government collapsing under the weight of its own absurdity. With the help of Penny Loam , an idealist who believes decency should be policy, and Professor Purling , a philosopher who has misplaced both tenure and trousers, Cringe discovers that Veridora’s bureaucratic harmony is maintained by a forgotten algorithm that quietly edits reality itself. Designed to maximise stability, the system has begun deleting imagination, compassion, and dissent in the name of order. As departments fail — from the Bureau of Misplaced Realities to the Department of Dreams and Nightmares — dreams leak into daylight, time loops upon itself, and citizens begin to remember the things they were meant to forget. Cringe, once a man who built his life on deception, must now confront the ultimate illusion: that control equals progress. In an act of rebellion, he and Penny overload the algorithm with contradictions — kindness, humour, and human error. The resulting “Dreamquake” tears through the city, forcing its people to face what they had long ignored. When the dust settles, maybe Veridora re-emerges lighter, stranger, and more forgiving. Maybe The Ministry survives as a humble reminder that it is not perfection, but persistence, laughter, and a shared cup of tea that keep the world turning — more or less competently.