The problem with being a writer and reading a lot of dystopian fiction is that I keep thinking of what would happen if some of those tropes were applied to current events, particularly in the United States. There are the serious what ifs that echo history; I think you know what I’m referring to here. But then there are the sillier, tropier ones.
This tweet sums it up:
Me: Maybe if I write something I can escape the hellhole that is American politics.
Also me: *writes about politics*— Sushi (@sushimustwrite) January 25, 2017
Here are a few of the things I’ve come up with. And if you ever write these things, let me know, but not right now. Reality is depressing enough as it is.
What if the hero of the story is some poor intern at the National Park Service? Her love interest would be an Environmental Protection Agency intern, and they would bond over nature and science. When they both get demoted (yes, demoted) at their internships, they get together and plot the fall of the government from within.
What if the hero has been an activist for awhile and then, just as the orange man is about to take the oath of office, jumps in and interrupts the oath? This and the resulting chaos mean the president never takes the oath of office. Then what?
What if there’s a parallel universe where Clinton is president and David Bowie and Prince and Carrie Fisher and all the other awesome celebrities who died last year are partying it up? And what if these universes are connected somehow? Instead of seeking refuge in another country, people would seek refuge in another universe. (This is going to be one of the universes in my parallel world novel. It has been decided.)
What if someone freed Melania by crawling into the exhaust pipes in Trump Tower? Or what if Barron went exploring in them?
What if humanity managed to colonize another planet and the rest of the world went there, leaving Murica to burn?
What if there’s a White House love triangle going on? Mango Man/Bannon/Spicer, anyone?
What if the zombie apocalypse happened? How would that affect how government agencies communicate? (Come on, you knew this was coming.)
What if we have to destroy all of the orange man’s horcruxes before the presidency ends? (Come on, you knew this was coming too.)
One reply on “Political What Ifs”
I’ll sacrifice my hand for a seventh of Mango President’s soul. But how do you kill a golf course, a tower, a plane, and Breitbart?