A Chronocrypto Short Story - Corporate Conglomerate Dystopia

in #dystopia6 years ago (edited)

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The term "corporate takeover" received an entirely new definition one day.

Some people saw it coming, but the majority of the population fell right into the grasp of corporate conglomerate as it arose and upended society as it was known at the time. There were a lot of big corporations with a great deal of the world's money in their pockets, and they developed a great deal of influence over a great deal of the world's people. When governments appeared increasingly untrustworthy, people started to wonder if having their countries run by the rich corporations wouldn't be so bad by comparison.

The day came when a sort of corporate coup occurred. Buyouts went rampant, corporate officials replaced those in the government, and before anyone could do anything to stop it, governments and corporations had effectively swapped places. There were questions of whether corporate officials would have the know-how to lead a country, but it seemed that that wouldn't be a problem. All the foreign business gave these corporations a knowledge of diplomacy that certain world leaders lacked to begin with. Furthermore, there were hints of the corporate influence spreading to other countries, which would resolve that difference and put all the new governments on a level playing field.

Money had always talked, but now it made things move more than ever. For a period of time, it looked like everything was going to be okay. Certain domestic pitfalls were patched up, the economy improved greatly, and the country achieved a solid place on the world stage where it had been shaky before. The extra money in people's pockets lead to more spending, and there was a cycle where money went back and forth from the corporate government to the people. Everyone seemed happy for the first time in a long time.

It might have felt like a long time before the abuses came to light, but that was only because the corporations knew where and how to use their money to keep things quiet. Everyone was so blinded by the apparent prosperity of their nation that the whispers of dangerous imperfections went unnoticed. It wasn't until the gap between the rich and the poor became more like a bottomless fissure and the way of life in that country changed significantly that the complaints were finally heard. Suburbs ended up subsumed by the sprawl of cities, and the population became more densely packed than ever before. Exploitation of workers, technology, the environment, and anything a corporation could bend to its needs ran unchecked. The world became a dark, smelly, dirty place where everyone tried to eke out a living but only a few truly got to reap the benefits of their hard work.
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Even the hush money dried up eventually, but by that time, it wasn't needed. Everyone was stuffed into the grimy cities, chasing the almighty dollar, or at least anything that could help them approach a passable lifestyle. The corporate security forces that might have once been called an army alternately enforced a twisted justice and bullied others into giving them kickbacks for their "protection." Society became divided into exploiters and exploited. Even people who thought they were largely out of the conglomerate's reach, or at least minor enough to be ignored, felt the impact of skyrocketing inflation and high costs of living. The fingerprints of the rich were everywhere.

As with every sort of undesirable situation, rebel factions began to arise. By necessity, they were small and thinly spread, but there were circles that whispered about reclaiming their lives from the corporate conglomerate that bought and sold them. Some possessed the technological know-how to turn the conglomerate's systems against them, others slipped through high society and worked the system from within. Rumors circulated through tawdry gossip e-news sites, but the majority of the population chose not to believe that change was slowly creeping back into the world.

The question now was whether it would all be too little too late.

I reward engaging comments, If you enjoyed this Short Story make sure to read my latests.

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Can this be happen in the real world given the current situation of today. Its a bit of a fiction but i think somehow theres a possibility.

I think there is a projection embedded in this story! -:)

Projection usually carries a deeper touching , and longer lasting, message to the reader than the direct message content !

My Stories are of course fiction but they are not that far out there.

I enjoyed your story and the socio-econo-political projection through it.
Yep! I think History just repeats itself , but the slow motion hinders the majority’s observation, yet, not the case for history readers ( or even fiction stories based on it)!

Too little too late?!? A rather appropriate and potent question when it comes to this story. Great lines, by the way, thank you. I really enjoyed it all.

When the last of the last might come to an end, then one would come to the grotesque if not morbid dawning, once and for all, of what the extent of too little too late might mean... I can't help but be reminded of the prophecy:

"When the last tree is cut down, the last fish eaten and the last stream poisoned, then and only then will know know that one can not eat money."

Namaste :)

I am very glad you enjoyed it, thank you for that last part, I like to put a little suspense in the end for my readers, you never know if a part two will come out.

Namaste.

Is this possible in the real world? I think it is really possible but only when people start to realise their true potential because my believe is that every man is an institution on its own.
And what is a corporation without an institution

Dystopia...quite a nice story here. This is a great post I just have to agree

It may never be too late to try making a positive change in the world....... It's always too late if the errors fails to be noticed at all

Great ideas, few grammatical errors, but really like the ideas and concept, one slight criticism from another person aspiring to write, maybe its me but it sounds quite flat, maybe its lacking emotion or description not sure which. Though dont let me dissuade you or put you off, as it really is quite good and I am sure if you keep going and growing, getting into your style you will produce some great stuff (I am just a bit picky having consumed mass amounts of sci fi)

hahaha corporate coup? Wondering how you can use tie and suit to challenge brute force. I guess there seems to be something you are not telling me. But nice article by the way

this is really technologically

I think this is educative and informative as well. I didn't know about the corporate conglomerate dystopia before now. But I think your perception about it explains a whole lot to me.

Am going to take a 2nd read and possibly a third to completely grasp every bit of this.

Anyways... I've been a huge fan and am always amazed and wowed by your success on the platform. I wish I could even near what you're here on steemit...

Hurts to be working and not seeing.

Enjoy the best of your weekend.... Meanwhile I'll stay glued to your blog. It could be a school here for me on steemit...

i love this....

This is a non-fiction story...

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