The Dragons

This is a science fiction short story about the end of our civilization, and the beginning of a new one. In the story, small mysterious creatures resembling dragons appear all over the globe, with unexpected results for us. This is not a sword-and-sandals adventure tale but a work of ideas. "The Dragons" takes an unsparing look at where humanity is now and offers a different vision for our future.Look around you. Do you like what you see? Are you satisfied with our political leadership, with the business class, with all those who have their hands on the levers of power? Are you content with the current order of the world? Perhaps you aren't. Perhaps you are quite definitely not satisfied. In fact, when you think about the myriad of serious problems that humanity currently faces-- climate change and the ongoing wholesale destruction of nature, economic stagnation, growing inequality and disenfranchisement, ethnic and social discord, armed conflicts and the nationalistically-fueled threat of greater bloodshed to come-- you are filled with despair, and anger. Despair, because with every passing day these issues seem to be growing more grave, more intractable, more pressing. Anger, because those who are responsible for guiding us toward a better, more sustainable world, for creating the conditions in which justice, prosperity, and opportunity might flourish...are not. Our leaders are failing us, of this can be no doubt. But beyond their failure lies an even greater burden of accountability. Like it or not, this the world we have made. In the future its achievements and missteps will be laid at our doorstep and no one else's. So if we don't care for the direction things seem to be heading in, it is up to us, the people, to change it. That's what this story is about: people taking the reins of the world back into their own hands to create a better society, one strong enough to last our time, and worthy of bequeathing to our children. And yes, the story is also about dragons, as well as a very special kind of magic! Read this tale if you cannot help but feel that somehow,somewhere, civilization-- the whole kit and caboodle-- has taken a wrong turn. Read it if you believe that neither the system we live under now nor its human proxies will ever be capable of putting us back on a truly democratic, sustainable path. And read "The Dragons" if, despite the undeniable gravity of the challenges facing us, you still have hope, and wouldn't mind coming by just a tad more.