The World of Prophecy Is Limitless

The oracle declared, "A whale and a lion will fight in the middle of the city!"
The wisest debated the hidden significance, whether it referred to a debate over strengthening the army or the navy for example, until one day a whale and a lion fought in the middle of the city.
"But now we need a reverse oracle to explain why that happened," one of the prominent citizens said, but in the meantime the people consulted the oracle again.
"A whale and a lion will fight in the middle of the city!"
"The same ones?"
To that the oracle had no answer. The citizens therefore waited, and they learned when next the event occurred that it was a different lion, though about the whale they were unsure. The original lion returned for the third match however.
The citizens became so used to tthat state of affairs that they were unprepared when new mines were discovered and a debate began over strengthening the army or the navy, but that struck them as trivial compared to the other matter. In the end, they relied on the lions and whales to dissuade invaders and spent the money on a new racecourse.
Finis

A Good Size for Your Science Fiction Army

A billion again. You're a scifi author; you don't understand numbers.

A Good Size for Your Fantasy Army

A billion. What? This is fantasy, right? You have read the Mahabharata, right? On second thought, a billion might be a skosh small.

History Corner

Did you know the Roman army used swords? The internet seems to be confused on this point.