Extra-Ordinary

Power came in the form of a vision for Prince. It wasn’t a dream enveloping one’s mind when remnants of the day’s troubles swirled into a plausible reality. It was a plain vision, tempting Prince with the promise of, well, power.

And it could speak. Not a physical, booming voice, but it carried itself nevertheless through nerves and circuits, whispering words directly into Prince’s head.

But before the conversation between Power and Prince ensued, the readers must know that Prince was ordinary, a commoner indeed. Power was as abstract to Prince as the intangible form it took. Prince had no grasp whatsoever of the enticement Power held, so it went to work immediately, however slowly. The inception of Power’s acquaintance always took a while.

“Remember the time you squashed the ant on your windowsill?” it asked, “that’s power. Only it was insignificant. With proper training and ambition, you can conquer. Conquer everything!” Here Power’s voice released a trill. 

“But what is power? How do you get it?”

Power was stuck for a second, but then it responded. “It’s the ability to control, to gain, and to benefit. And expedient is all you need to achieve these incredible powers!” Power proclaimed.

As with ordinary people, Prince had a difficult time processing and digesting such particulars that Power had just spilled out. He felt apologetic, therefore, and nodded his head as if he truly comprehended Power’s dictum.

“You don’t get it, do you?” Power demanded, eyeing Prince suspiciously and his impulse pulsing. Power was reckless sometimes, and it could be blind. Today, his anger was rising. The ignorance of some individuals annoyed him; he liked those with ambition, those that were willing to risk and expend everything. 

“Give me a more concrete example then. Perhaps I will understand it better,” Prince suggested.

“All right, Prince. Do you consider yourself an ordinary person?” Power asked impatiently.

“Yes. I mean, I am average in most things, if that’s what you meant.”

“Exactly. Power, and that means I, can make you extra-ordinary. You will no longer be average, and you will aspire for greater things. Fame, success, just so much,” it reasoned.

“But I’m fine the way I am, being ordinary. Why do I need power?” Prince asked.

“Because you need it so others don’t get it. Don’t you get it, my pupil? If others have power, they can control you. You’ll be dominated. You will feel oppressed and depressed!” Power shouted.

At this point, Prince faintly got the gist of Power’s elucidation. “Okay, so it’s a win-lose situation. You could’ve said it earlier. But what’s the cost?” Prince asked.

“The cost?” Power was baffled. To it, there was no fundamental cost associated with the attainment of its ultimate goal, which was to rule. Power was the fruit; the expenditure would be paid later on by the powerless. “There is no cost,” Power shook his head in contempt. “Only expedient. You just manage to get and maintain power, and I am teaching it to you now.”

“But it’s a win or lose situation, so someone must have to pay the price,” Prince said smugly, glad that he had scored a point against Power.

“Of course, of course,” Power conceded. “But you don’t pay the price, my friend. The others, the losers, they will bear the burden and pay the cost. Isn’t that fascinating?”

“But then these will be oppressed, and doesn’t that contradict your point? People that I dominate will not be happy, and I don’t want that. I don’t want people not liking me,” Prince said.

Power raged yet decided against reprimanding Prince for his stupidity. “It doesn’t matter whether they’re happy. Just keep power. Keep it. Who cares if they love you?”

“If they don’t love me, they will rebel. Power can’t be obtained and maintained that way,” Prince said matter-of-factly. An average person with ordinary faculty would think like that too, Prince thought.

“Make them fear you then. Haven’t you ever realized how people obey when they have fear? Instill fear, my friend. Your philosophers have pondered and agreed upon that!” Power laughed sinisterly.

“That’s not the truth,” Prince said. History showed how authoritarian states that resorted to fear and secret police often worked, yet didn’t they all eventually crumble? The truth somehow, for the first time, became apparent to Prince. Power didn’t come from fear. The ultimate power belonged to something more profound. It is vested in -

Power interrupted his train of thought.

“I am the truth!” Power bellowed. “Don’t you realize that truth comes with power? It forces people to listen, and the proletariats must worship it as peremptory, the infallible truth!”

The image of Power faltered in front of Prince. He wasn’t sure what was happening. His mind was twirling, interfering with his thinking as he tried to focus. The wrath of Power had wreaked havoc on him when he attempted to speak to Power. Speak the truth, he told himself.

“Power doesn’t need persuasion,” Prince muttered. Only his voice wasn’t so steady. What is power anyway? What’s truth at any rate?

“Power defines truth,” Power repeated. The vision became clear once again. “Power doesn’t need validation. Power speaks the truth.”

“No.” Prince shook his head. “I speak truth to power. To you.”

It let out a hollow, husky laugh. “Speaking truth to power? What do you know? You have absolutely no idea what power is and what it can bring.”

“I know what it is. It is power in its own right. But too much of it blinds us, just like how you blinded yourself. It brings sadness and destruction instead of joy and success.”

“It can destroy you. I can crush you,” Power hissed.

“Yes, you can. But only the blind, the extra-ordinary, those that seek the fame and transcendence, can be fooled by you. I’m ordinary, and proud to be ordinary.”

Prince closed his eyes, as the vision dissolved before him. It was power, after all. The real power rested in refusing power, and opting to remain ordinary.