The Council

By Acar Murat Boyner

The members of the Council are about to select their leader. The only candidate is Maksim. Though Maksim is able to impress most of the members, his true intentions slowly begin to surface. Whilst many are oblivious to Maksim's true goals, the Council's idealist member, Sasha, tries to convince the others of his deceitfulness and treachery.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Assure Press
• Release date: Jul 22, 2022
• ISBN: 9781954573321

Acar Murat Boyner

Acar Murat Boyner was born in Istanbul, Turkey in 1996. He completed his BA in Political Science at Georgetown University in 2018. He is currently working in the retail sector. Throughout his education, he has been especially interested in both philosophy of mind and in political philosophy.https://muratboynerr.wixsite.com/author

Book preview

The Council

Praise for Acar Murat Boyner

The Council offers a compelling and chilling tale about how authoritarianism and the corruption of power can arise almost unnoticed.  The novella is underpinned by an excellent grasp of political theory and human psychology.  This is a must read for anyone who desires to gain an understanding of the workings of tyranny.

Professor Thomas Kerch, Georgetown University

The Council

Acar Murat Boyner

Assure Press

Copyright © 2022 by Assure Press

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be performed, recorded, used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the written consent of the author and the permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and review.

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The Council/ Acar Murat Boyner— 1st ed.

ISBN-13: 978-1-954573-31-4

eISBN-13: 978-1-954573-32-1

For my Babado

Contents

MAKSIM’S SPEECH

MEETING I

MEETING II

INTERMISSION

MEETING III

MEETING VIII

INTERMISSION

MEETING IX

INTERMISSION

MEETING X

MEETING XI

MEETING XXI

MEETING I

About the Author

Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters.

Abraham Lincoln

MAKSIM’S SPEECH

My dear members of our glorious Council, you have all spent much time reorganizing but to no avail. You are yet to find a leader suited to lead the Council. This, in the grand scheme of things, is not only detrimental to the Council you have worked to reform but to yourselves. My dearest members, your Council is surrounded by those who wish to destroy it. You may not see them now, but there are powers that desire nothing more than to see your demise. Other leaders and members wish to belittle all you have worked for. 

I know you don’t know who I’m talking about. But it is that very reality which will destroy you. How can you protect yourself from an enemy you don’t know exists? You can’t! But there is good news: I know who they are, what they can do, and what I must do to stop them from ever locking the door again. It is not enough that the door belongs to the Council; it is who holds the key to the door that matters. It is this reality, my friends, that brings me to you. I am the one and only leader who knows what and who we are dealing with. Thus, I am the only one who can protect this Council from destruction. Only under my rule, my leadership, and my hegemony can this Council triumph. You can find no other who is as loyal to this Council as I am. I will guarantee all of you a safe and secure future, a Council door forever secure, and forever yours!

I promise to fight against those who wish to once again lock the Council door. As long as I am the leader of the Council, this Council will forever reign. In my absence, however, the Council will face certain dissipation. Only under my rule, my hegemony, and my possession will the Council door remain forever open!

MEETING I

Hidden behind a wooden door at the end of a long, dark hallway, the Council meeting room was a sacred place for the members, who walked in together. This room, in which countless topics were discussed, was airless, stuffy, and sterile. It served its purpose without soul, expression, or character. The walls were covered with many layers of white paint, and a round table with seats assigned to all the members stood in the middle of the room. A small, bright lamp hung from the ceiling, dangling over the center of the table. On one of the white walls rested a small cabinet, a wall clock above it. The key to the room sat in the center of the table. 

Of the eight members, seven had taken their seats. Despite the sterility of the room, a not-so-sterile, rather vital topic was about to be discussed. The agenda was set to determine the future of the Council by selecting its new leader. There was only one candidate: Maksim. 

Mr. Maksim, would you please leave the meeting room? another member asked him. Maksim stood up slowly, took a long breath, and, flaunting his self-confidence, exited the meeting room with a carefree strut, closing the door behind him. The six members who remained in the room glanced silently at one another in an effort to read each other's thoughts. Eventually, Pavel slowly raised his hand. The other members looked at him, eager to hear what he had to say.

We are in agreement, then? Pavel asked.  

On what? challenged Sasha.

What do you mean, on what? Maksim should be our leader.

I have some reservations.

What do you mean?

Such a decision does not sit right with me.

Pavel, who sat in front of Sasha, smacked the table and glared at him, then gestured towards him with the same hand.

Is Maksim not a leader? What else do you want? 

This statement left a bad taste in Sasha's mouth. Many things could be said regarding Maksim, but leader was not how Sasha viewed him. Before Maksim left the meeting room, he had given a long speech. Despite his great passion, which managed to impress most of the Council members, Sasha found it suspicious, for one simple reason: The entire speech consisted of a discussion of the powers that could threaten or even destroy the Council. Maksim argued that he was the sole person who could protect the Council against such enemies. In fact, he had even claimed that only under his hegemony could the Council avoid utter destruction. Without him, the Council would not survive. Sasha did not consider this sort of thinking to come from a quality leader; instead, he viewed it solely as a form of politics based on the exploitation of fear. He believed a real leader only used fear in politics for two reasons: the person was either deprived of