In the future, what we now called the U.S.A. will be ruled by “The Four.” Not the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, but close. Darn close. Too close for comfort.
99% of the population will be enslaved as Serfs to the other 1%, the aforementioned “The Four.” This group started out with small fiefdoms, but over the years, their unquenchable greed and lust for power grew to such biblical proportions that they eventually seized control of every business and institution in the U.S.A. In the process, they annihilated the middle class. The country’s name has changed from U.S.A. to U.L.A.—United Lords Association. Subsequently, all books about the previous U.S.A. and its history were destroyed.
The Four Lords are:
Lord Google: Who controls all the information.
Lord Monsanto: Who controls all the food.
Lord WalMart: Who controls all consumer products.
Lord Goldman Citi Morgan: Who controls all the land.
If the Serfs hadn’t been too tired, too bewildered, too uneducated, too sick, too terrified, or too oppressed, they may have wondered, “How did we end up like this?” But no one did.
Not until a little girl named Virginia wondered. That was after her parents told her she was named after a state when U.L.A. was U.S.A. They said “Virginia” was the birthplace of a great nation, with a government called a DEMOCRACY that represented ALL people, not a privileged few. Virginia’s parents told her never to forget her origin. Then they died of a broken heart.
Virginia wanted the truth. She asked every Serf she knew, “Do you know what happened to the U.S.A.?” They all shrugged their shoulders and went back to working for the Lords.
A boy named Percy (who had a crush on Virginia) wanted to help her. He asked everyone he knew. His Auntie Flora advised him to ask FuchsiaWoman.
“You mean that wacky old woman who lives at the end of the rainbow?” Percy asked.
“She’s smarter than you think,” Flora replied. “She has the wisdom of history in her bones.”
“How’d that happen?”
“She’s really old.”
Percy and Virginia embarked on a mission to FuchsiaWoman’s cottage. They encountered many setbacks along the way, such as monsters and stuff, ordered by the Lords to try and stop the intrepid duo. (The Lords cannot tolerate independence.)
Every time a monster, like the Monster of Corruption or the Monster of Complacency, made a grab for Virginia or Percy, a strong wind lifted the two up and out of the monsters’ clutches.
They finally made it to FuchsiaWoman’s cottage, shaped like a giant honey pot. Fuchsia invited Virginia and Percy inside and served them tea and honeycakes. She explained that her house was covered in honey because the sweetness insulated her from the meanness of the Lords.
“What brings you by?” Fuchsia asked.
“We want to know how our country changed from U.S.A. to U.L.A.,” Virginia said. “Because my parents said when it was the U.S.A., it was much better.”
“I’m so glad you asked!” Fuchsia said. “It’s a story of utmost importance. And one I was hoping to pass on. Your parents were correct. U.S.A. was infinitely better than the U.L.A. we live in now. In the olden days of U.S.A., the will of the people was sacrosanct. There were no Lords or Serfs, but instead freedom, equality, and justice for ALL. It was where a movement of people had the power to change society for the better. It was the bee’s knees!”
Percy laughed. “Are you nutty?” he asked.
“No,” Fuchsia said wistfully. “Just nostalgic. Before, we didn’t have the Four Lords. There were only people like you and me—who HAD.
All of this changed when the judiciary branch of the government, called the Supreme Court, ruled that corporations were like people—and could spend as much money as they wanted to elect officials. Consequently, the corporations with the most money were able to peddle their influence, which guaranteed that puppets and ne’r-do-wells were elected to government. Corporations became all powerful—not people. That’s how we ended up with Four Lords who control everything. That is how we ended up as Serfs, the HAVE NOTS of our society. The blame belongs squarely on the shoulders of the Supreme Court. That is who plunged a dagger into the heart of democracy. That is who destroyed the U.S.A. And that’s the truth.”
Virginia looked sadly at Percy. He was too busy eating honeycakes to talk.
“That really IS an important story,” Virginia said. “Thank you for sharing it with us.”
“Thank you for asking questions,” Fuchsia said. “Be sure and tell as many people as you can. If enough people know the truth, U.S.A. can re-emerge in all its glory.”
“Is there a way to make that happen?”
“Yes, Virgina. There is a way. It’s called a Revolution.”
Percy gulped. And grabbed more honeycakes as they left. He was thrilled with the treats as his mother made cake out of spinach and lima beans. Virginia had been too distraught to eat. But she was thrilled, too, with the treat of knowledge.
On the way home, a strong and sweet wind blew over Virginia and Percy. It swirled around them and whispered in their ears, “I am the Spirit of America. I live wherever there is truth.”
THE END
Fantasy or the Future? You be the judge.
(I don’t know about you, but I’m watching out for those Four Horsemen.)