Anarchy in New Enlgand (23 page)

"You know I’ll never understand it," Molly said shaking her head. "Drake had everything he needed, everything he could have ever wanted. Why would he give it all up for such a stupid reason?"

Atlas let out a laugh, but then reeled it in apologetically. "Sorry," he said, "but you guys are young. These days there’s only so much power to be had, right? Money gets you power, but still it’s a different type of power. And yeah, you could
buy
power back in the days before the collapse, but now there’s no one to buy it
from
. Today you get power only if you provide people with something they want. You used to just be able to take it from them by force. That’s what Drake was trying to resurrect.

"I guess what I am saying is, there’s no going back for these guys – Drake and Barry types; if their wallet shrinks, their power shrinks. Power will make people do some crazy things, and, well… you get used to a lifestyle quickly. The bank has got to keep swelling or they’ll feel irrelevant and worthless. Money, the market, customers – that’s the only way to do it these days. You can’t just force people to respect you. You can’t just buy a share of the market like you used to be able to from government. You gotta earn it, to put in the time, the effort, and work for it. He was trying to skirt the system, hold onto something his father and grandfather created, but he couldn’t sustain."

Themis nodded in agreement, Molly shrugged in agreement.

"So I suggest a toast," Atlas continued, "To friendship, truth, and freedom. To Molly’s thriving new business, and AP’s outstanding new Director. To New England, and indeed the world, and the sovereignty of each and every one of her inhabitants. To the hope that the earth’s transformation to a world free of slavery soon be complete. To future generations, that they recognize the gift of being born free, and never squander that opportunity. That we never become complacent, and put more value in ease than equality. Uh let’s see… did I miss anything?"

"To Mr. Atlas!" Molly joyfully interjected, raising her glass, "That he live long, and continue to prosper, as a reward for the risk he took to keep a free people free. And to Director Themis! That his quality of life may match the quality of his commitment to standing guard for the natural rights of every man, woman, and child!"

"And to Ms. Molly Metis!" Themis piped in, "For overcoming the odds against murderers and thieves, and standing strong in the face of the worst adversity, to bring truth to the people of New England, whether they wanted to hear it or not!"

The three heartily raised their glasses toward the ceiling, clinked them together, and downed the contents, before continuing their revelry.

There was order and peace, wealth and happiness, freedom and equality. The region was secure. There was still anarchy in New England.

About the author

Joe Jarvis was born in 1989 in suburban Massachusetts, and along with two older sisters, was raised by two loving parents. He considers Ayn Rand a major influence, having devoured her non-fiction Objectivist writings as well as the fiction classics
Atlas Shrugged
, and
The Fountainhead
. Joe aspires to pick up where Rand left off in a sense, but hopes to appeal to a larger audience with less preaching, and more consistency in bringing the non-aggression principle to its logical conclusion: eliminating government altogether. After the 2012 start of his political blog, JoeJarvis.me, his disillusion with government accelerated with every bit of research.  Later he started a more lighthearted philosophical blog, JoeJarvisExplainsItAll.com, in order to move away from strictly political issues, and keep himself sane. Joe aspires to spread his knowledge and views of a better future through fiction, including what he considers to be his first of many,
Anarchy in New England
.