Effacement

"We'll start with an easy one. Read this."
"It says, 'Here is a granary of Hadalcar.' Wait, am I allowed to say that?"
"Yes, since it's in the course of your duty. So this is all we have to do here." Yemash put his chisel to the inscription and went to work. The name of the king disappeared. The name of the king appeared in its place.
"Here is a granary of Belnasu," it read.
"What's next on the list? I'll have you do it if it's another simple one," Yemash said.

The king was dead, and measures were being taken. There was no need for a funeral. Mourning was out of the question. Temples were packed with people offering sacrifices in order that the gods would bless the new reign. Scribes were updating accounts in the palace and correcting inscriptions in the streets. Official procedures and common customs were operating just as they ought.

"The temple dedication reads, 'This is the house of Alu-Patap. Hadalcar built this. Long may he reign,'" Necha reported.
"This is a little trickier, but we determined the best way to deal with it long ago. Pay attention." Yemash tapped away. The name of the king disappeared, as did his work. The name of the king and what he did appeared.
"'This is the house of Alu-Patap. Belnasu loves this. Long may he reign.'"
"Often the dedication says, 'caused to be built.' The accepted method in those cases is to substitute 'in heart venerates,' which works just as well."
"But in truth we do not know if the king loves this or venerates that."
"We do know. The sure proof is that he is alive."

Different measures must be taken in different cases. If the king dies in battle; if he dies of illness; if he abdicates after suffering a disfiguring injury or succumbing to the frailty of age. In those cases the scribes would not be rewriting their work, temples would be sacrificing for the old king's felicity in the afterlife, and all subjects would exhibit their grief in the streets.

"These triumphal monuments have long inscriptions. Try to pick out the name without reading every word," Yemash told Necha.
"Um, 'Hadalcar approved the omens and gave battle,' 'the leader of the enemy fell under Hadalcar's own hand,' and 'Hadalcar erected this marker to commemorate the victory.' But the king did none of that."
"That is why only the educated, like us, can do this work. We have to use our judgment."
"You mean, we make it up sometimes?"
"Yes. Mistakes are more common in this situation, so be careful. I always fix the new inscription in its entirety in my mind before I start carving." Yemash ran his finger back and forth over the key sentences, his lips moving. "Ah, I have it." He applied his chisel and corrected the inscription.
"'Belnasu accepted the results of the battle.' I see, of course the king would accept a victory," Necha said.
"All right, here's the next one."
"'The land won from them fell under Belnasu's own sway.' That's clear enough."
"Now for the last sentence."
"'Belnasu respected this marker . . .' Yes, I suppose so, or else he would have it pulled down."
"Exactly. What's next on the list?"

It was a surprise when it happened, though astrologers warned of it and the omens were bad. Everyone could see the king was becoming too proud. It was certain he would come to a bad end.
Even so, for a chariot of the gods to appear directly above the king and extinguish him in a flash of light was a clearer sign of divine displeasure than anyone living could remember. There was no one who could claim not to be startled by the spectacle.
As dramatic as the event was, all the people from the lowest to the highest leapt into action and did what they must to keep the state running and avert the curse of the gods. A new king was chosen, priests conducted the relevant rituals, and scribes skilled in carving were dispatched.

"That's a good representation of the work. Do you have any questions?"
"I do have one. Shouldn't we record what happened somewhere? As a warning at least?"
"There's no need. Everyone will understand what happened by the fact of his effacement."
"But we all know how rumors can be. Maybe they will say the king wanted to insult his predecessor and steal his glory for himself."
"That's ridiculous, young scribe."
Finis