Post by Chomei on Jan 9, 2024 22:59:20 GMT -5
Chomei rubbed his eyes as he struggled to hold back another yawn. He supposed that maybe he should have figured... But running the planet was an awful lot of work. He hoisted a paper up from the corner of his auburn desk. Another arrest report... Every day, he received a list like this... A list of high-value individuals related to Derry, either apprehended or maybe it was conjecture about where they would be hiding out. Never about Derry though... He'd planned out his escape far too well. There was no real chance that he was still on Earth, and as it turned out, most of those higher up in this scheme had fled just before Chomei had started this operation.
Rubbing his temple, he took off a pair of glasses designed to alleviate eye strain. He had more reports... Military readiness, Economic evaluations... His secretary had submitted a draft of his announcement—He'd be making that soon enough. He had to read it over and make sure that everything was fine, and then rehearse it...
He was pretty glad that he had so much free will in what he could do... Being the sole executive authority had its perks. But there always seemed to be some problem, something that distracted him from whatever work he had done, or was doing. It was frankly exhausting. A block of politicians launching a formal complaint, a group of schools with not enough funds to buy food for their lunchrooms. Thinking about it... He did figure that this is what things would be like. Yet he'd still (irrationally) launched a campaign. And won... somehow. The next two years, all these problems were his to bear. Alone for the most part. He knew his secretary wouldn't last long... The amount of work every day and night was unbearable.
He wanted to quit.
The thought of that stopped him dead in his tracks. He tried to swat the thought away, but it persisted now like an annoying fly. Quit, huh? That sure would be nice. Feeling overly drowsy, Chomei sat back down in his oaken chair. He'd spoken with Megis about his responsibility... Duty, to Earth. Was this what that meant? A new problem every hour, nights without sleep... Chomei was already unnaturally resistant. He could bear a few nights without sleep... But even that adamantine resistance could rust and be chipped away at.
He didnt think he enjoyed this job much... Didnt think he'd made any difference, which was an irrational thought, given he'd only been in office for two weeks. But doubt continued to seep in, both old and new. If things came down to it, could he overcome his dormant cowardice? Or would new weakness shine through the facade he was putting up? Would he be able to do what needed to be done? He let out a long drawn-out sigh and felt his eyelids grow heavy. He began to trail off into slumber, acknowledging it as a bad idea even as his body shut down.
... No, I really shouldn't. With an effort, he opened his eyes once more. And was met with a completely alien land. Foggy wisps of clouds floated single-file for as far as the eye could see. To his left, he saw a pathway adorned with scales and fins, and the head of a giant stone snake!
... Must be a dream... He decided. He stretched a little as he looked around. He didnt think he could force himself awake... So he decided to just check out the dream instead. It was weird how sentient he was though... Must be one of those lucid dreams. He started to probe the nearest cloud, who reacted in a manner Chomei would describe as "angrily". Then, shrugging, he set off onto the Snakeway to see where it led.
Rubbing his temple, he took off a pair of glasses designed to alleviate eye strain. He had more reports... Military readiness, Economic evaluations... His secretary had submitted a draft of his announcement—He'd be making that soon enough. He had to read it over and make sure that everything was fine, and then rehearse it...
He was pretty glad that he had so much free will in what he could do... Being the sole executive authority had its perks. But there always seemed to be some problem, something that distracted him from whatever work he had done, or was doing. It was frankly exhausting. A block of politicians launching a formal complaint, a group of schools with not enough funds to buy food for their lunchrooms. Thinking about it... He did figure that this is what things would be like. Yet he'd still (irrationally) launched a campaign. And won... somehow. The next two years, all these problems were his to bear. Alone for the most part. He knew his secretary wouldn't last long... The amount of work every day and night was unbearable.
He wanted to quit.
The thought of that stopped him dead in his tracks. He tried to swat the thought away, but it persisted now like an annoying fly. Quit, huh? That sure would be nice. Feeling overly drowsy, Chomei sat back down in his oaken chair. He'd spoken with Megis about his responsibility... Duty, to Earth. Was this what that meant? A new problem every hour, nights without sleep... Chomei was already unnaturally resistant. He could bear a few nights without sleep... But even that adamantine resistance could rust and be chipped away at.
He didnt think he enjoyed this job much... Didnt think he'd made any difference, which was an irrational thought, given he'd only been in office for two weeks. But doubt continued to seep in, both old and new. If things came down to it, could he overcome his dormant cowardice? Or would new weakness shine through the facade he was putting up? Would he be able to do what needed to be done? He let out a long drawn-out sigh and felt his eyelids grow heavy. He began to trail off into slumber, acknowledging it as a bad idea even as his body shut down.
... No, I really shouldn't. With an effort, he opened his eyes once more. And was met with a completely alien land. Foggy wisps of clouds floated single-file for as far as the eye could see. To his left, he saw a pathway adorned with scales and fins, and the head of a giant stone snake!
... Must be a dream... He decided. He stretched a little as he looked around. He didnt think he could force himself awake... So he decided to just check out the dream instead. It was weird how sentient he was though... Must be one of those lucid dreams. He started to probe the nearest cloud, who reacted in a manner Chomei would describe as "angrily". Then, shrugging, he set off onto the Snakeway to see where it led.
PL: 70,000
WC: 635
Notes: A dream?
WC: 635
Notes: A dream?