In Power (standard:science fiction, 743 words)
Author: Salamander	Added: Oct 04 2000	Views/Reads: 3715/3	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
A short little tale about a guy with more problems than Idaho has potatoes, apologies to all Idahoians reading this, who becomes president of the United States.

I don’t suppose it really matters. 

I grew up like any other kid, struggling, learning, trying to be
popular. Avoiding insults. It was normal. I was normal. And I was fine, 
and stable, and everybody thought I was average. 

The only difference was that I didn’t have a goal. Oh, sure, a lot of
kids don’t know what they want to be when “they grow up.” But they all 
have a clear picture of what they’re good at, and what they are going 
to try and do with their lives. 

I didn’t. I lived with the impression that someone else would decide for
me. Of course, it never happened. 

I went to some college. I don’t remember the name, it wasn’t famous. It
was a local college. I picked average courses, and never got a Ph.D. I 
don’t think I really cared. I passed, though. I didn’t really know what 
to do with my life. 

You know those aptitude tests they give you, the ones that determine
what job you’ll be when you grow up? I filled those outs. I never got 
my results back, except for once. The one said, “follow your dreams, 
you can do anything!” Total BS. Translated, it means: “We have no idea 
what you’re suited to be,” or it could even be thought of as: “You 
can’t do anything.” 

For some reason, I was a kid who always saw behind the lines. I didn’t
make too many friends, because I kept getting frustrated. Why couldn’t 
they see? That so-called “Learning Center” was for retards that can’t 
be taught in a regular classroom? That some teachers know less than the 
students on what they teach? That your dreams WON’T come true? 

When I was in college, I read the headlines, and saw that the government
suppressed the public. They killed people, experimented, did whatever 
they want. They kept everything secret. They lied, cheated, and most 
conspiracy theories had a basis in reality. One day, I said something 
out loud. My friends backed me. It grew. 

The result? One day, while holding a massive rally, yelling about the
lies, they came. It was quick and smooth. Two black Mustangs pulled up 
and grabbed me. Everyone screamed in protest, attacked the people who 
pulled me away, but they got away with me. 

They told me in the car. They couldn’t allow people to know. They
suppressed and dominated the people, but they explained some things I 
didn’t know. How one of the biggest lies (the Roswell incident) was 
actually not a lie, it was a large unstable meteor. When the attention 
about Roswell died down, surprise surprise, the entire meteor exploded 
and killed the few enthusiasts left. 

When we came out of the car, I understood. The government’s lies was the
lesser of two evils. Then they told me I could never be allowed to 
spread the secret. The masses would panic. So I was hired on as 
“Assistant Undersecretary Temp of the Janitorial Department.” I was the 
absolute bottom of the barrel. The only thing I was able to do was 
carry things for the janitors. Rookie janitors. Subordinates to the 
rookie janitors, for God’s sake. 

But one day, somebody noticed when I talked the other janitors out of
leaving me to do all the work. So I got boosted...to president. 

I was as surprised as anyone was. 

The job was explained to me. There was a mock election, and I won, of
course. It was really weird, but I did it. I was GOOD. 

There was more to being president than sitting in a chair. I learned all
sorts of complex math, physics, and botany, chemistry, and biology. 
There was a purpose for all this, of course. I needed to talk with the 
aliens, and they only understood math. 

The aliens, referred to as the Dragonflies, were very similar to their
namesake. The major change lay in size, as they were about 50 times 
larger and walked on ridiculously lanky legs. They didn’t fly, but they 
still had wings. 

I made a couple breakthroughs. I began to understand their body
structure, and was able to determine where they came from. It was, 
interestingly enough, deep space. We never questioned this, and they 
didn’t tell us. 

Besides more knowledge and learning the truths, it really wasn’t much of
a change from being an Assistant Undersecretary Temp of the Janitorial 
Department. 

I guess that’s strange. 

But does it even matter? 

Nope.


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