Power

By Randal Doering

Power is the story of Brian Hopper, a Santa Fe, New Mexico liberal with a chip on his shoulder as concerns conservatives. He goes on vacation in Egypt and runs into a supernatural creature which offers him “tremendous” magical power for one year. Intrigued, he grabs the offer, only to find that the power is almost entirely destructive, and it pushes him constantly to kill people. Right after he is granted the power he claims his first victim, a thief who tries to make off with something of his. Then he kills a couple of thugs who attack him. As he gets more comfortable with this energy, he starts killing people by the thousands with his magic. The authorities begin to refer to him as a terrorist, and his sense of himself changes to someone who can kill anyone, anywhere, at any time and who is nearly unstoppable.

He offers his abilities to various Indian tribes, but none of them want anything to do with him, after he kills a thousand national guardsmen and policemen in Los Angeles. So he goes after a larger target, an entire nation, and destroys its infrastructure and kills a million of its citizens. Caught up in his expanding power, he returns to the United States and declares all-out war on conservatives. Cities crumble, but the conservatives are not defenseless, and they go after him as savagely as he goes after them. In the end his year is up, and his power drains away. He expects to be killed at any moment but is offered a last-minute way out. His adventure ends, but you’re right if you’re expecting such a tortured story to have an ambivalent ending. You’re reading this one to see how Brian manages his power, where he succeeds and where he falls short and what ultimately happens to him when his power fails.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Randal Doering
• Release date: Dec 21, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311743718

Randal Doering

Randal Doering has a B.A. in creative writing from San Francisco State University and an M.A. in anthropology from Cal State East Bay. He has published a couple dozen short stories in token markets and semi-pro magazines and has won honorable mention in the "Writers of the Future" contest. Recently he won a finalist slot in the San Diego Book Awards, for his fantasy novel "Pax Azteca." Randal has a web site at http://www.rdoering.com. Here you can find out more about his other novels and collections of short stories. His email address is: [e-mail]. You can let him know what you think about his stories. Would you please consider writing a review when you've finished reading Randal's book? Reviews are the best way to let other readers know what is best (and worst) in a book. The more reviews the merrier!

Book preview

POWER

A Study in Extremism

Randal Doering

This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed

in this book are either fictitious or are used fictitiously.

The cover image comes from the web-based image exchange Dreamstime. It was done by Flynt and is titled

Magic Aladdins Genie Lamp, ID #42144776.

Power

By Randal Doering

Copyright © 2015 Randal Doering

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved.

ISBN-13: 9781311743718

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to every fool who ever got more power

than he should have had, and the poor bastards he ran over

in his rush to get off.

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Just a Man

One Day in Egypt, A Liberal Got Power

The Game Changer, or, Cautious Murders

Social Justice, Or, The Blacks

A Thousand Broken Tribes, Or, The Indians

Pakistan, Or, Look At All The Fun Toys!

Guatemala, Or, An Indian Nation

One For Women

So Long, Texas

The End, As In The Beginning

About the Author

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am an American liberal from a family of conservatives. My brother, my mother, my father are all staunch conservatives, as are many of my aunts and uncles. Curiously, as an adult I have cultivated friendships with liberals, moderates, and conservatives all. Some good talks, and occasional spikes in blood pressure, have come of this. Like most people, I have on occasion wondered what it would be like to have lots. Lots of money, lots of women, lots of sports cars, lots of power. Brian’s story is about the last one on that list.

When I was a young man, an older man told me, Young adulthood is about sex and family. Middle age is about politics. Old age is about establishing your legacy and preparing for death. I am now middle aged, and damned if he wasn’t right. It seems like I see everything through a political filter. I have wrestled with what are my core convictions, who do I support, and what do I expect from my life as a liberal? This book is one way of working out those struggles.

I was an infantry soldier for 3 years. One of my sergeants once said to me, Most political problems can be solved by shooting somebody in the head. That was the sentiment I followed for this story.

Many books have influenced my thoughts on magic and the sort of power that arises from magic. So here I list some books that got me worked up. It shows you what I think about from day to day.

Alif the Unseen G. Willow Wilson

The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night Richard F. Burton

Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual: Genie Christopher Perkins

The Elric Saga Michael Moorcock

The Golem and the Jinni Helene Wecker

I, Rigoberta Menchu Rigoberta Menchu

Legends of the Fire Spirits Robert Lebling

Mayan Lives, Mayan Utopias Rus, Castillo and Mattiace

Reservation Blues Sherman Alexie

The Vampire Lestat Anne Rice

Just a man

Brian’s head hurt again. He had a headache that alternated between a heated throbbing and a shattered thumping. He got headaches most days, with a hard-edged buzz that made his teeth hurt and made him scrunch his eyes. Right now it was two-twenty in the afternoon, and so he got up and went to the medicine cabinet in the bathroom and got some Seroquel. He hated taking his medicine. The pills were big enough to choke a horse, and half the time they stuck to the back of his throat when he tried to swallow them, causing him to choke. He just wanted to take a drink of water and push them down. Was it that complicated?

He put the two pills into his mouth and took a swallow of water and gave it a whirl, and what the hell, the pills went straight down. He put the pill bottle back in the cabinet and closed the door. A cockroach ran across the mirror. It was April, but with global warming it was hotter than usual, and the roaches had been running around his apartment a lot lately. That’s what he got for living in a cheap apartment.

It was Saturday afternoon, and he wasn’t going out with friends or anything like that today. He was just reading a book, something fun. Brian had a B.A. in web development and worked as a freelance web developer, building web sites for small businesses and non-profits. Reading was what he did with his free time.

The phone rang, and he went back to the bedroom and answered it. This was the land line, which meant it was either his parents or his friend Rachel, who for some reason never called his cell.

Brian, he said, picking up the phone.

It’s me, said Rachel. What are you doing?

Reading a book about Indians. Something by Sherman Alexie.

Didn’t you already read one of his books? Remind me.

He’s an American Indian writer. A lot of his stories have a political slant.

Does he write about Indians, or politics? she asked.

Both. He’s a bit on the PC side, though, trying not to step on anyone’s toes.

Fuck people’s toes, she said. Call it like you see it.

"What are you doing today?" he asked.

Got up late, played with the cat, then had to clean house. Took a long time. Had four loads of laundry; I guess I let it accumulate for a while. How are your symptoms today?

Suck. Headache, as always. Head full of noise. Saw a witch on a broomstick flying past my window, right after breakfast.

"Damn, I’m so glad I’m bipolar, and not what you’ve got. I would not like to see things that aren’t there."

Just took my meds, so that should help, he said. He reached up and rubbed his temple, and the pain of the headache receded a little.

I’ve been reading chick lit. You wouldn’t recognize the name, she said.

No, I’ve never read chick lit before, he said.

You’re not the intended audience, sweets.

He chuckled.

When do you head for Egypt?

Next Friday. I’ve been in a rush to finish all my projects for my clients before I go. Been crazy busy. You’d think I was going to be gone ten years.

I’m jealous. Laying around on the beach for two weeks, sucking down margaritas and getting a tan… Sounds nice.

I’m looking forward to it. Hurghada has it all: sea, beaches, lots of wildlife in the water, some old monasteries to explore. More than enough to keep me occupied. You going out on a date tonight?

How did you guess? He’s a pianist.

Professional?

Of course not. Professionally he’s a pharmacist. But he plays fluent piano. We’re going out to a very nice restaurant for dinner. His treat.

Women have it so good.

Yeah, except when men beat us black and blue and bloody.

He wondered what to say to this. He had met Rachel in a bookstore about five years back, shortly after he moved to Santa Fe from San Francisco, and they had started talking about the writer, Anne Rice, and they became friends. They tried a romance but didn’t hit it off; the chemistry just wasn’t there. After that she got involved with a judicial clerk who had hit her twice before she left him. She referenced that incident fairly often. Clearly it had left a mark on her.

Live and learn, he said at last.

Yeah. I’ve learned that a lot of men are assholes.

I just finished a book about the Maya Indians of Guatemala. It was a collection of folk tales. Pretty good stuff.

You and the Indians. You should marry an Indian.

They were here first. Brian pounded his desktop with a fist.

Yeah, but then we came, and now they have to live with us, like it or not, she said.

You need education on Indian issues.

Fuck Indian issues. I have enough women’s issues to keep me busy the rest of my life.

Name one women’s issue you have right now, he challenged.

Why are women only getting seventy-seven cents on the dollar for what men are making? Who the fuck decides this? Why did Republicans vote down a bill that would have moved toward eliminating that gap? Why are the Republicans such assholes?

The party of ‘no,’ quipped Brian.

Don’t Republican women want to earn what their men earn? I can’t understand where the conservative women are in this debate. Do they just keep silent and follow their men at two steps behind?

That’s a legitimate issue, he allowed. I’d vote in favor of giving women higher wages.

Yeah, well, it’s you and me, all by ourselves, and a few Democrats who haven’t given in to the Republicans. What bullshit.

I’ll tell you an issue of mine, he said.

Oh-oh. More about how the poor Indians get the crap beat out of them in Washington?

This is about blacks.

I guess I kind of care about blacks. Black women, anyway.

Why do the cops keep killing unarmed black males? White cops, black men, death.

Is this a riddle? Do I have to guess the answer?

And the grand juries that are convened to decide if the cop was acting illegally keep letting the murderers go.

You’re spreading yourself over too many ethnic groups, she grumbled. Here’s one for you, about good old white people: by 2030 the Hispanics will be the majority ethnicity in the United States. They’re going to throw open the southern borders and flood the country with tens of millions more Hispanics. The whites will be lost in the flood. What are your kids going to do when the Hispanics have all the politicians and give all the resources to other Hispanics? Or do you think they’ll be more equitable at running the country than the whites have been?

Wow, you’re cranked up today, Brian said. I’d say, it’s time the whites started having kids again, and stay on top. I don’t know if the Hispanics will do a better job than the whites or not, but I know they can’t do much worse. All the news out of Washington is sex scandals and stealing money and melt-downs. We may have the first black president, but that didn’t change the culture in Washington.

Hmm. I don’t worry about blacks that much. I know as a good liberal I’m supposed to sweat bullets over every black person, but I think there are a bazillion people looking out for blacks, and I don’t need to do it too. Women are my people. I’ll restrict myself to that.

The Navajos just got half a billion dollars in settlement money from the U.S. because the government mismanaged tribal resources.

What has the government done for white people lately?

Made a million of them into millionaires, he snorted.

Why aren’t we millionaires? she asked.

We’re what is known as ‘working people,’ he said. Absolutely no one gives a rat’s ass about us. We have no one looking out for our interests.

You make forty grand a year as an independent, and I make seventy grand a year working for the man. I wouldn’t mind making half a million a year, but I’ll never get there.

You’re dreaming, now. You’re not management material, Rachel. I’m not, either. My outstanding trait is that I hate people telling me what to do, so I’m an indie. It’s a sorry way to live, but it’s what I’ve got.

Boo-hoo. Swallow your disgust and work for the man.

Fuck the man. Indie all the way.

You should run for office, then you’d be calling the shots.

"If I got into office, I’d make the conservatives dance. It would be payback for every good piece of legislation they ever scuttled."

You sound bitter.

I’ve seen lots of good ideas fall apart because of partisan politics in Congress. The Republicans want partisan politics? They have no idea just how partisan I can get. Kick their asses.

See, I think you have this attitude because your dad is a crusty old conservative, and the two of you don’t get along.

My mom is a conservative, but she’s willing to compromise.

Why don’t you take after her, then?

Because I’m a boy. My dad needs his ass kicked.

She laughed, then said she had to start getting ready for her date.

When are you going out?

Sevenish.

It’s hours yet.

It’ll take me a while just to decide what to wear. Much less the shower, shaving my legs, doing my hair, and all the make-up.

Ha ha, all I do when I have a date is shit, shower, shave and throw on whatever I see first in the closet.

Fuck you, she laughed.

Catch you later, he said. I doubt I’ll call before I go on vacation, so I hope your pianist is a stand-up guy.

Yeah, you take care, too. Have fun with the Egyptians. Do you feel sorry for them, like the Indians?

The Egyptians have a stable government, with a few turbulent waves during the Arab Spring. Hurghada is a resort town, it’s all about catering to the tourists. There is a big coral reef just off the coast, it’s supposed to be packed with critters. I want to see a blue-spotted sting ray. And maybe some eels. I’ve never seen a live eel before. I’m not worried about the Egyptians, they’re doing all right. The Indians have been getting the shaft since 1492. It’s time someone straightened things up for them.

I won’t get a vacation for six months yet. Have fun!

Take care, he said and hung up the phone. His headache had receded, and he felt better than before. He wished he had read up on folktales of Egypt; a culture that old had to have some whopping stories. But he chose the American Indians over the Egyptians. One can have only so many interests.

He got a banana from the kitchen and munched on that as he settled back in with his book.

The following day was Sunday, and around two in the afternoon he called his parents, who lived in Wisconsin. His mother answered the phone. Brian and his dad didn’t talk much. Brian was a Santa Fe liberal, and his dad was a Wisconsin conservative. There wasn’t much common ground, there.

Haven’t heard from you for a while, said his mother.

Been super busy, getting all my clients wrapped up before I go on vacation, said Brian.

Already? I thought it was still another month or two.

Time goes by fast, mother. Seems like every few months I have another birthday and get a year older.

"Wait until you’re in your fifties, son. You think time goes by fast now… Thirty-one