Wednesday, April 17, 2013

‘O’ is for ‘Optimism.’



‘O’ is for ‘Optimism.’ If the apocalypses have revealed one thing about sentient life, it’s that the optimists are the only ones worth paying attention to. Pessimists and optimists die alike, but the former die having accomplished less, and having been far less entertaining to watch.

This perspective formally began under the Gremlin Empire, who used spores to observe the behaviors of lesser beings. Triclopes, nine-legs, centaurs and the like were reality television, and gremlins would drop supplies on tribes that behaved in entertaining fashion.

Since then, it’s been the optimists who made things work. They renovated the destroyed remains of old cities into new shelters. They scavenged the last technology, pushed progress, and in the Frontier, have even gotten old species to cooperate. You’d never have expected humans to forgive the imps for enslaving them, yet now they are routinely traveling partners. Those who think the struggle is worthless perish. Those who embrace it might change the world for the brief time they live in it.

Nowhere is optimism more embraced than The Empire of Gold and Jade. Despite its tyrannical reputation, it has done more for the study of external magic and formal physics than any culture in hundreds of years. They possess the only cities where the sun never sets, and command the weather to serve their crops, and their military squads, like the Storm Guard. That they frequently use their optimism for their gain at the expense of others reveals a little something about optimism: menace is just fear of someone else’s optimism.

18 comments:

  1. I must pass this gem onto my partner. He tells me that pessimists are never disappointed, and can only be pleasantly surprised. Perhaps he will understand the phrase 'dead right'.
    Thanks John, another truly enjoyable post.

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  2. Nice one, John. Pessimists work to keep things from getting worse. Optimists work to make things better.

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  3. I knew that cup was half full for a reason... :)

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  4. Love that closer: menace is just fear of someone else's optimism! I like the idea of airlifting goodies to tribes who do entertaining things, even if the whole spore/spy/reality TV thing is a little creepy. :-P

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  5. Oh, good post. Optimists would be the better option to keep the world going. They would refuse to give up.

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  6. Fortune favours the Brave (or in this case Optimist), doesn't it?

    I love your ideas.

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  7. To be entertainment for food and optimistic at the same time, hard work. The optimists will find a way out of it.

    KaTy Did at: Life's Ride As I See It

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  8. That rings so true to life. Life would suck if everything was a chore :)

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  9. It makes sense that the optimists keep things going.

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  10. I like this especially because it is so apt right now. I agree with J.A, Bennett!

    jean xox

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  11. I suspect this is true everywhere.

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  12. I like how optimism comes through in your world. Those cities where the sun never sets sound a bit exhausting, but nice.

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  13. The struggle is worthwhile. I believe that good ultimately predominates over evil in the world.

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  14. A very philosophical post. And true too. And the best thing about optimism is that no matter what happens, you're usually happier about it!

    Rinelle Grey

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  15. Correct! It is Optimism that has taken the world forward.
    Cynthia Rodrigues Manchekar at Cynthology

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  16. Yay for optimism! I remember reading somewhere that technically the glass is completely full, half with water and half with air!

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  17. This is the most wonderful aspect of your world so far. Optimism can take you a long way.

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