Waves of acid. Rolling ruin. Flaming vestige. Drowned past. Buried remnants. Glory.
Norman the conqueror repeated these his favourite words again and again as he watched the pagans, the dissidents, and the strong willed slip into the hole of death. 500 years old and only his head remained, placed on a plastic body, tubed and cabled in perfect ways so his battery could be recharged and the porridge could be pumped into the nutrition container. He was not as such happy with life. Not in itself.
He lived only for conquering. Obtaining the things that other people liked. Not because he liked them… that is the things (but come to think of it he didn’t like the people either), but because power, power mongering, power abuse, power on purpose, power for fun – yes, all kinds of power was his joy.
So he became a conqueror. People like him does. And as always those other people let him, because...
Well, to be honest I am not sure why they let him.
He was an arsehole.
---I am on a holiday. Sitting here in rural Denmark I have been busy with holiday things. But now there was a gap - so this little story could be told.
By year 500, the Dude should have gotten some new hobbies, anything to get his mind off all that world-domination addiction.
But my advice will go nowhere because Norman is already consumed by the pursuit of power, to the point where it's the only thing that brings him any semblance of joy or fulfillment.
Like everyone else, I will let him win. Walks away
I hope you're enjoying your holiday in Denmark.
Yes, I am from Copenhagen so I simply travelled by train to the other side of the rather small country. But lovely to be out of the big city.
And I agree. I would walk away, but I would also remember how Hitler and his henchmen made living in all of Europe impossible. Sometimes you have to fight them.
Funny!
Norman is one of the shadow controllers, no feelings except for being desirous of power for power's sake. Very apropos now that the world can see that POTUS is not in control in any sense, and are asking, if Biden is not in control, who is? A disembodied power we mere humans cannot imagine. Yet.
Yes, I'd say it is not coming out of nowhere. I am also reading a very old book that sort of inspired this. Discours de la servitude volontaire by Étienne de la Boétie.
Nothing is new under the sun
Nice one.
Perfect short and captivating story. This life is a battle everyone fights to win, that's why failure shouldn't be a reason for anyone to give up.
Thanks :)
I think that among humans the complex group dynamics makes the fight for life a very messy thing. Hierarchies are hard to battle.
That's right!!
Hierarchy is a factor too.
The love of power instead of purpose...... An ill that sadly plagues our world, even now 😢
A short, yet engaging piece. Well done 👍
Everyone has a passion for winning, but a passion for winning that hurts people is not good
At least winning a place in the world - most settles at that. Some can never have enough.
This is what every human wants, when he works hard, he gets success, but there are many people in this world who disturb other people for their success, so it is better that people remain unsuccessful than such success.
Yes, there is always a price we pay when we allow people to be too egocentric. Freedom for all is a remote ideal, sadly.
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I thought I wrote in another group. This one is a bit too restrictive to my short prose. Hope you can let this one pass.