Jeremiah Ames
Well-Known Member
I have been working on a novel. A fictional story. I need some help, because I’m a bit stuck.
I will give you a rough outline: (sorry, it’s a tad long)
There is a poll at the end if you make it that far.
Once upon a time in a galaxy far, far away there was this place that was somewhat special. It made its share of mistakes and lots of dumb things were done for various idiotic reasons, but all in all, it was a fairly decent place to live, for most people.
Then, lo and behold, something sinister occurs. A certain group of individuals decided they wanted more. Much more. This particular group already had much, but they were determined to get more. We will call this group: The Greedies.
There was a second group, we will call: The Stupids.
This group pretty much lived their lives minding their own business, pretty much. They were fairly harmless, as long as they had a job which paid the bills, and a ball team to call their own so they could have something to get behind, or more specifically something to rally against (a different ball team).
A third group of people, we will call: The rationalizers. They differ from the greedies in that they have no aspirations to get more. They are satisfied with a fair share. They also differ from the stupids, in that they actually think. As you can probably surmise, this group is by far the minority.
The story begins when the greedies start to influence their leadership to make it easier for them to get more.
Here’s where we get a new cast of characters, we will call: The four Horsemen. (No actual horses are involved). They are actually just people who could fit comfortably in with the greedies, but who also like power and control, so they are....... yes, you guessed it, politicians. Don’t get me wrong, the greedies love power and control over others too, but they prefer to exist behind the scenes. So they control these Horsemen kinda like puppeteers.
The first Horseman is placed in power and his crowning achievement is the removal of a lead standard which had supported the people’s currency from its beginning. Why is this important? Because for the greedies to get more, there must be more. And this place couldn’t make more. (Some people early on placed arbitrary restraints on the government’s ability to make more money. Something about having a certain amount of lead in their vaults before making money.)
It doesn’t take long for this new policy to work its magic. The currency quickly becomes less and less valuable. So more and more needs to be created, and now it can be created without limit. Of course, the vast majority of all wealth is held by the greedies, so when more wealth is created (out of thin air), they get most of it. I know, creating money out of thin air is witchcraft, but that’s ok for this story, because it’s fictional.
Now a problem for the greedies, is the tax system, which had been set up to benefit all people in this particular society. For the greedies, this system must be changed to benefit them and only them. This is around the time when the greedies align themselves with one of the two political parties of this place. The one that is obviously catering to the greedies SELF interest. This party is called the Party from Hell. I’m guessing the name has something to do with the fact that Hell and Self are one and the same. By the way, for those interested, the second political party is called The Other Party. I don’t know why they called it that. Now this second party didn’t have an abundance of ‘good’ people in it, necessarily. It just didn’t have so many horrible people like the Party from Hell.
Here is where the second Horseman enters the scene.
Easy to get him elected since the stupids represent the majority of people in this country, and the stupids love to worship celebrity and other, well, ‘stupid’ things. So the greedies find a suitable celebrity (probably a basketball superstar?) and get him elected. Voila, his first act is the dismantling of anything that resembles fairness to all citizens, and a total giveaway to the greedies. The stupids have no idea what is happening. They hear some lame soundbite about money ‘leaking down’ from heaven, and they visualize riches for themselves. They have no clue they’ve just been conned big time, but then remember, they don’t have the ability to think. The stupids have also been sold, ‘literally’, a phony war with a nonexistent boogeyman, which costs an enormous amount of money. I know what you’re thinking. Specifically, those of you who think. How can this society spend vast amounts of money when they just cut their income dramatically? Well, stop. Don’t ask that question. There is nothing that makes sense when you mix politicians, greed and stupid. Plus, this is fiction, which means it doesn’t have to be realistic. At this point, the entire society is drowning in debt, but the greedies are quite content, because they have more. Much more.
And keep in mind, everything owned by the greedies does not have to be shared, but the enormous debt is shared equally. Kind of a win win for the greedies.
Along the way, something strange happens. The greedies fail to get their person elected. (In this world they require elections every 13 years) The people elect some renegade (from The Other Party). He balances the budget and restores a little fairness and equality to the system. It isn’t a lot of equality but it’s moving in that direction, and this is something that irritates the greedies.
(I know, the plot change doesn’t make sense, but I don’t want it to be so linear and predictable. I need to insert something that upsets the narrative, even if it cannot possibly seem realistic)
Well, the greedies can’t let this continue. This is where we call in the 3rd Horseman. Find a big name candidate, throw out a few deceptions along with the usual lame sound bites and, voila, the stupids line up to vote this latest Horseman to power.
I just thought of a nifty wrinkle for this story. How about the 3rd horseman doesn’t actually get the majority of the votes, but the greedies find a way to get him elected anyway? I know what you’re thinking. This may be a fictional story but that’s even too bizarre for fiction. Ok, I’ll scratch that idea.
Well, moving along, what should be the first order of business for this new Horseman? Massive giveaway to the greedies, of course. And this one can be a doozie, since the previous leadership actually balanced the budget.
To be continued.
I will give you a rough outline: (sorry, it’s a tad long)
There is a poll at the end if you make it that far.
Once upon a time in a galaxy far, far away there was this place that was somewhat special. It made its share of mistakes and lots of dumb things were done for various idiotic reasons, but all in all, it was a fairly decent place to live, for most people.
Then, lo and behold, something sinister occurs. A certain group of individuals decided they wanted more. Much more. This particular group already had much, but they were determined to get more. We will call this group: The Greedies.
There was a second group, we will call: The Stupids.
This group pretty much lived their lives minding their own business, pretty much. They were fairly harmless, as long as they had a job which paid the bills, and a ball team to call their own so they could have something to get behind, or more specifically something to rally against (a different ball team).
A third group of people, we will call: The rationalizers. They differ from the greedies in that they have no aspirations to get more. They are satisfied with a fair share. They also differ from the stupids, in that they actually think. As you can probably surmise, this group is by far the minority.
The story begins when the greedies start to influence their leadership to make it easier for them to get more.
Here’s where we get a new cast of characters, we will call: The four Horsemen. (No actual horses are involved). They are actually just people who could fit comfortably in with the greedies, but who also like power and control, so they are....... yes, you guessed it, politicians. Don’t get me wrong, the greedies love power and control over others too, but they prefer to exist behind the scenes. So they control these Horsemen kinda like puppeteers.
The first Horseman is placed in power and his crowning achievement is the removal of a lead standard which had supported the people’s currency from its beginning. Why is this important? Because for the greedies to get more, there must be more. And this place couldn’t make more. (Some people early on placed arbitrary restraints on the government’s ability to make more money. Something about having a certain amount of lead in their vaults before making money.)
It doesn’t take long for this new policy to work its magic. The currency quickly becomes less and less valuable. So more and more needs to be created, and now it can be created without limit. Of course, the vast majority of all wealth is held by the greedies, so when more wealth is created (out of thin air), they get most of it. I know, creating money out of thin air is witchcraft, but that’s ok for this story, because it’s fictional.
Now a problem for the greedies, is the tax system, which had been set up to benefit all people in this particular society. For the greedies, this system must be changed to benefit them and only them. This is around the time when the greedies align themselves with one of the two political parties of this place. The one that is obviously catering to the greedies SELF interest. This party is called the Party from Hell. I’m guessing the name has something to do with the fact that Hell and Self are one and the same. By the way, for those interested, the second political party is called The Other Party. I don’t know why they called it that. Now this second party didn’t have an abundance of ‘good’ people in it, necessarily. It just didn’t have so many horrible people like the Party from Hell.
Here is where the second Horseman enters the scene.
Easy to get him elected since the stupids represent the majority of people in this country, and the stupids love to worship celebrity and other, well, ‘stupid’ things. So the greedies find a suitable celebrity (probably a basketball superstar?) and get him elected. Voila, his first act is the dismantling of anything that resembles fairness to all citizens, and a total giveaway to the greedies. The stupids have no idea what is happening. They hear some lame soundbite about money ‘leaking down’ from heaven, and they visualize riches for themselves. They have no clue they’ve just been conned big time, but then remember, they don’t have the ability to think. The stupids have also been sold, ‘literally’, a phony war with a nonexistent boogeyman, which costs an enormous amount of money. I know what you’re thinking. Specifically, those of you who think. How can this society spend vast amounts of money when they just cut their income dramatically? Well, stop. Don’t ask that question. There is nothing that makes sense when you mix politicians, greed and stupid. Plus, this is fiction, which means it doesn’t have to be realistic. At this point, the entire society is drowning in debt, but the greedies are quite content, because they have more. Much more.
And keep in mind, everything owned by the greedies does not have to be shared, but the enormous debt is shared equally. Kind of a win win for the greedies.
Along the way, something strange happens. The greedies fail to get their person elected. (In this world they require elections every 13 years) The people elect some renegade (from The Other Party). He balances the budget and restores a little fairness and equality to the system. It isn’t a lot of equality but it’s moving in that direction, and this is something that irritates the greedies.
(I know, the plot change doesn’t make sense, but I don’t want it to be so linear and predictable. I need to insert something that upsets the narrative, even if it cannot possibly seem realistic)
Well, the greedies can’t let this continue. This is where we call in the 3rd Horseman. Find a big name candidate, throw out a few deceptions along with the usual lame sound bites and, voila, the stupids line up to vote this latest Horseman to power.
I just thought of a nifty wrinkle for this story. How about the 3rd horseman doesn’t actually get the majority of the votes, but the greedies find a way to get him elected anyway? I know what you’re thinking. This may be a fictional story but that’s even too bizarre for fiction. Ok, I’ll scratch that idea.
Well, moving along, what should be the first order of business for this new Horseman? Massive giveaway to the greedies, of course. And this one can be a doozie, since the previous leadership actually balanced the budget.
To be continued.