I had decided to start taking more of an apathetic stance towards stuff I couldn’t change. You know, things like traffic, gas prices, the junk they play on the radio these days--all that kind of stuff. It was working out pretty well, actually. I was feeling relaxed with the world, and that night when I got home, although I was annoyed with a lot of things, I knew what would make me feel better. I decided to go grab myself a sandwich and watch a quick half-hour of the news. I flipped on the TV and headed to the kitchen. The seriously anxious tone of a reporter followed me into another room.

"...the world holds its breath. The latest threats of retaliation have come from China in response to the new free trade legislation organized and implemented after last month’s Alliance of Western Nations summit in Boston." I shrugged. The media had been all over this latest world crisis. Apparently the Chinese had offended American sensibilities a couple of months ago by refusing to import a fair amount of lumber. As a result, the States had used its sway in the AWN to design and enforce a pseudo-trade embargo on China, and the other 17 countries in the Alliance had followed suit. Of course, tension had existed for the last seventy or eighty years, but this was the last straw. And now, since they were already well entrenched in this latest staring contest, neither superpower was going to back down and thus lose face in front of the world. The whole situation had been going on for about three weeks now, and neither side had budged.

However, it was interesting news, and it beat the trashy talk shows and bland sitcoms on right now by a large margin, so I kept listening. "Just today the situation escalated when the Chinese Prime Minister stated, 'The AWN has no right to cut China off from the world trade market, and unless the Alliance repeals its new trade laws, we will be forced to take measures against the western powers.' Precisely what these measures are was not stated, but shortly after the press conference, Abi Luman, head of state of the Coalition of Arabic Nations, made it clear that the Coalition supported the Chinese nation in the conflict." I raised my eyebrows and went back into the living room. This could end up being better than I thought. The reporter kept speaking.

"Political analysts have made reference to the fact that the C.A.N. has control over 60% of the world’s oil supply, and that after the proposed 2008 oil price freeze, the C.A.N. may be seeking a way to strengthen ties with the Asian market while deteriorating bonds with the west. Noted political science professor, Howard Lamburg is quoted as saying, ‘The C.A.N. seems to be looking for a way to get back at western powers after 2008, and a reduced export of oil, justified by a de facto pact with China, could be headed our way. I wouldn’t be surprised if gas prices tripled if tensions keep rising, and the C.A.N. gets involved.’"

It was starting to get a little heady for my tastes, so I flipped to the sports station, and an hour or two later, went to bed.

The next morning was hell on the roads. Apparently everyone had heard the statement by Abi Luman, and gas prices had skyrocketed literally overnight. I couldn’t believe it--I paid eighty dollars for a tank of gas1 Even though no action by the C.A.N. had been taken in the least, the gas station companies had taken the opportunity to price gouge the consumers even more. There wasn’t even any concrete evidence that anything would happen--it was all pie-in-the-sky at this point. But hey, what can I do, right?

Two well-dressed men carrying copies of the Globe and Mail walked down the sidewalk of the most extravagant part of town. One man had a small CNN insignia on his briefcase. he chatted the enthusiastic but elitist chat of the amazingly powerful.
     "Well Johnson, it looks like I owe you a Coke. I didn’t think you’d be able to pull this one off. I honestly didn’t think the public would believe it."
     "Thanks. I’ll admit, it was difficult, but the hardest part was coming up with a dramatic enough story. If you have that, the public will believe anything."

© Derek Epps 2001