found drama

get oblique

meditating on the future

by Rob Friesel

“Fall Down Six Times” is a series of short-shorts by Ran Prieur that are essentially meditations on apocalyptic collapses. Or a “Ridiculous Best Case Scenario”. Most of these have elements that remind me of conversations I’ve had recently with friends about “what we’ll do when the economy collapses.” It’s reassuring that I’m not the only one worrying about this.

A sample (Creative Commons licensed, no less):

Spring, 2006. The attack on Iran is canceled when the UAE, stung on the port deal, refuses to offer their territory as a staging ground. Tony Blair, after being given a huge dose of ecstacy by Russian agents, reveals that he supported the Iraq war because the Bush administration blackmailed him with disturbing sex photos. Hundreds of other blackmailees come forward, and suddenly the American elite have no leverage. The rest of the world pulls the rug out from under our economy, and we can no longer afford to occupy the colonies or import anything.

This disaster cuts deep enough that most Americans pass right through indignation and outrage, into humility and cooperation to help each other get through it. The neocons fade away, the Republicans become a minority party of religious fundamentalists, and Howard Dean survives three assassination attempts to be elected president in 2008.

About Rob Friesel

Software engineer by day. Science fiction writer by night. Weekend homebrewer, beer educator at Black Flannel, and Certified Cicerone. Author of The PhantomJS Cookbook and a short story in Please Do Not Remove. View all posts by Rob Friesel →

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