Senator Palpus is an old retired general in the Sakhmet Defence Force. He has kept on good terms with King Coltzan III since he quit the army many, many dinners ago, which may be why he has such a great pension plan and quite a large stomach region. "Oh, this," Palpus says, pointing to his stomach, "well, like my popularity, it has definitely grown over the years, I guess."

"Over the years I've won many medals," says the senator, "and awards from various battles and from Sakhmetians that have recognised my efforts in trying to better this city. For as long as I can remember I've tried to convince the king and the other officials to open our region to the rest of Neopia, but no one wanted to listen. Now that the Neopoints are pouring into Sakhmet City everyone is happy and new food stalls are popping up all over the place, but nobody wants to give me any of the credit. Like we say in here in Sakhmet, that's just how the wet sand crumbles. At least our great city is thriving at long last."

Indeed, his reputation as a politician who puts principle before politics has earned him the respect and affection of not only Sakhmet's voters but also Senator Barca, who got it right when she described Palpus as a Senator "who is far more concerned with making Sakhmet more effective and efficient than with bickering."

With the recent, and unfortunate loss of the king, Senator Palpus is sure that the progress and advancement of Sakhmet will not come to a halt... not with his great influence, that is. He'll be sticking around the Royal Palace of Sakhmet for a long as he can.