The child does not fear the dark…

because his toys are still at their posts.

It’s the weekend. The snow lies thick outside. On weekends such as this, one should sit with one’s family and tell stories that begin with once upon a time; of lands where good and evil are clearly drawn, where heroes still exist, and where good, in the end, prevails. As G.K. Chesterton so beautifully reminds us, fairy tales are, after all, meant to reassure us: not that dragons exist, but that they can be slain, and evil vanquished.

I trust that this story, too, will turn out that way in the end.

~Once upon a time, a dragon tyrannised the Kingdom of Man.

Covered with thick orange scales, its eyes glowed with hate, …

… and from its terrible jaws flowed evil-smelling slime ...

Some tried to fight the dragon…

… cheese-makers, toy-makers, wine-makers alike…

... bringers of what makes man happiest, all united ...

Curses, stern letters, and harsher words yet to no avail,

…The dragon’s claws, jaws, and fire ever so effective…

The dragon demanded from humankind tributes:

… the honour of the honest,...

... the reward of the clever, ...

... and the heart of the people,…

… to be delivered to the dragon’s heap, pay the grisly tribute, …

… to suffer the misery, to feed the insatiable hunger. …

And humans, ever adaptable, came to accept the dragon-tyrant as a fact of life; …

… knowing, even embracing, that everyone’s greatest achivement would be taken away.

But, humans are a curious species,

... the tiniest of lights shines ever so bright in the darkest darkness, ...

…. and so they thought, that the dragon must be made gone…~

John Sjoholm, for LIMA CHARLIE WORLD

[Center graphic created using CoPilot. Story stolen, err based, no wait – inspired sounds so much better. Story inspired from a multitude of realities, but really almost entirely off of Nick Bostrom’s absolutely amazing “The Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant” from the Journal of Medical Ethics, 2005, Vol 31 – found here: https://nickbostrom.com/…/the-fable-of-the-dragon-tyrant/ ]

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John Sjoholm is Lima Charlie’s Middle East Bureau Chief, Managing Editor, and founder of the consulting firm Erudite Group. A seasoned expert on the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and the Balkans, he has a background in security contracting and has served as a geopolitical advisor to regional leaders. He was educated in religion and languages in Sana’a, Yemen, and Cairo, Egypt, and has lived in the region since 2005, contributing to numerous Western-supported stabilisation projects. He currently resides in Jordan.

Lima Charlie World provides global news, featuring insight & analysis by military veterans, intelligence professionals and foreign policy experts Worldwide.

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