Political Pistachio by Douglas V. Gibbs
"Treason is only a matter of Perspective," chimes the mantra of a new era.
Hermie Shenango is an out of work journalist living in an age where the Western Media, through a sub-agency known as Mind Patrol Central, controls all governmental functions. Failing to act politically correct could result in being deported to the prison island of Cuba.
After wading through red-tape disallowing Hermie to remove eavesdropping worms from her walls, an order by law enforcement officials to obtain permits for pistachio consumption is the least of her worries. Grave diggers seated atop a nearby wooden fence, shovels pitched over their shoulders, are hoping that Hermie's body will be the next to drop. Perhaps, if they are quick about it, they will be able to drop her carcass into the ground before the cremators show up to run off with her corpse, grinding her up and serving the liquified remains to the population as a nutritious bowl of pewter-bean porridge.
Determined to change civilization's grip on the human soul, Hermie and her friends decide that it is time to overthrow the government. The Political Pistachio Political Party is created in the hopes of providing freedom, hope, and more beer. Battling eavesdropping worms, deadly mechanical spiders, and an army of clones led by a man so degenerated that he mirrors the Grim Reaper, Hermie is going to have a difficult year. Her only hope may be a voice speaking to Hermie from beneath the city through the flopping mouth of a foul-mouthed, rubber sardine.
Hermie Shenango is an out of work journalist living in an age where the Western Media, through a sub-agency known as Mind Patrol Central, controls all governmental functions. Failing to act politically correct could result in being deported to the prison island of Cuba.
After wading through red-tape disallowing Hermie to remove eavesdropping worms from her walls, an order by law enforcement officials to obtain permits for pistachio consumption is the least of her worries. Grave diggers seated atop a nearby wooden fence, shovels pitched over their shoulders, are hoping that Hermie's body will be the next to drop. Perhaps, if they are quick about it, they will be able to drop her carcass into the ground before the cremators show up to run off with her corpse, grinding her up and serving the liquified remains to the population as a nutritious bowl of pewter-bean porridge.
Determined to change civilization's grip on the human soul, Hermie and her friends decide that it is time to overthrow the government. The Political Pistachio Political Party is created in the hopes of providing freedom, hope, and more beer. Battling eavesdropping worms, deadly mechanical spiders, and an army of clones led by a man so degenerated that he mirrors the Grim Reaper, Hermie is going to have a difficult year. Her only hope may be a voice speaking to Hermie from beneath the city through the flopping mouth of a foul-mouthed, rubber sardine.
