Hugh Bryden - We Have To Do Something

Scottish Writers' Podcast

People's Prize Winner and Runner-Up in Dumfries & Galloway Arts Association Flash Fiction Competition 2006. Read by Robin Dalgliesh.
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We Have To Do Something

“We have to do something. Socialism is slipping through our fingers like sand.”
Boris was worried, so were the gathered representatives of all the remaining communist states, they too could see the writing on the crumbling wall.
“Jose has an idea that I think is a stroke of genius,” Xiang said enthusiastically.
“Well, we have to outdo them at their own game. We have to secretly form a super organisation that will dominate the western world by having stores that provide everything, are in every town, all over the cities. We start by selling food and control all the markets due to our buying power. Expand into all consumer goods, undercutting other shops. Then banking, insurance, internet access and communications. Buy the people with cheap baubles and suck them in with dividend schemes. We will have everyone dependent on us, know all their details, everything about them. When we have total domination we can reveal that it has all been a socialist coup – everything has been nationalised.”
“That sounds remarkable. What should we call it?”
“I thought to begin with – TOTAL ENTERPRISE SECRET COMMUNIST OBJECTIVE”.
“That’s too long - what will it shorten to?"
© Hugh Bryden 2006