At precisely three hours to peak, the room was full, and Factol Hashkar and his Bureau Chiefs processed up to the podium accompanied by stately and perfectly harmonious music.
The music came to a melodious close as the Factol organized his notes, and began his speech:
"Fellow researchers, and scientists; lovers of knowledge. Today marks the 986th year since our Faction's foundation. We were the first faction. Namely, we are the faction that defines what it means to be a faction - a group of sentient beings, organized around the principles of shared goals, ideology, and worldviews, and dedicated to uncovering the secrets and meaning of the multiverse.
"For us, uncovering the secrets of the multiverse means learning its immutable truths: the axioms, laws, and rules which govern the multiverse, the nature of things, and individual lives, respectively."
Hashkar paused to sneeze into a previously perfectly folded hanky, and turn the page of his notes.
"Of course, the Axioms are above all. To discover an Axiom is to become like the Powers - fully conscious of the inner workings of some part of this reality. But to KNOW an Axiom is to be able to prove it fully from the other axioms, and be able to understand it in all its inner workings and full ramifications on the rest of the multiverse.
"This year, I am proud to announce that we have, at last, come to KNOW a new Axiom."
He paused to make a small illustration on the magical display:
"The Axiom of Non-Contradiction!" He announced "A thing cannot both be, and not be. It is strange, in the light of the often contradictory nature of the multiverse to think that such a thing could be true. For this reason, we have long struggled with this particular theorem. Its study began with. . . "
For the next three hours, the Factol went into the long and convoluted history of every single researcher ever to have worked on this particular axiom. There followed a detailed proof of its veracity, accompanied by all the necessary equations on the magical blackboard. Finally, congratulations were given to the researcher who had finished the final piece of the proof, along with a shiny gold plaque and a promotion.
After polite and orderly applause, the Factol continued:
"But, as exciting as the discovery of a new Axiom is, we cannot forget our other researchers, and those who put their discoveries to use in the political sphere. "