The Commerce Diarist

[Abishai100]

This is a modernism-parable about information/knowledge value inspired by the films Toys and Jumanji (a toast to Robin Williams!).

This is a comics-stylized vignette inferencing Green Arrow, Count Vertigo, and Chaucer.

Cheers,

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Green Arrow was squaring off against his old nemesis Count Vertigo. Green Arrow was a heroic super-archer, while Count Vertigo was a hypnosis-skilled terror-villain. Arrow was sure that Vertigo planned to do something terrible to the Library of Congress on New Year's Day, so he considered staking out the library to await Vertigo's terrorism-oriented 'scheme.' Indeed, Vertigo showed up at the Library and sent everyone in a panic by transmitting his hypnotic telekinetic 'mental-waves' of subsonic energy, rendering pedestrians hysterical and prompting multiple superheroes such as She-Wolf to show up and serve as active participants (though none of them could deal with Vertigo).

Arrow knew he was the only one wise enough to handle Vertigo, but he also knew that if he got too close to Vertigo to try to shoot him with arrows, Vertigo would render his aiming-process as useless with his hypnosis-inducing mental-waves. Vertigo was at the Library of Congress, because he wanted to scare Americans on New Year's Day regarding the modern world's preoccupation with the storage, sanctification, and servicing of data/information. Vertigo wanted to argue that the Internet had 'demystified' and hence de-glorified the sacredness of libraries and books, and Arrow recognized that such a message would only promote anarchy and cynicism among Americans.

Since Arrow could not shoot Vertigo directly while he was in the full-swing of his hypnosis-inducing powers, he decided to challenge the villain in an intellectual discourse, so as to at least 'distract' him long enough to hesitate in 'liberally' using his hypnosis-waves (and provide Arrow the necessary space-time to shoot arrows right into Vertigo's heart!). However, Arrow would have to have his wits well-coordinated, since Vertigo was quite mentally-shrewd himself. The conversation regarded the sanctification and iconography of information itself and represented a new age 'education consciousness.' Even Gordon Gekko would have appreciated such an 'idealistic commercial exchange.'

ARROW: Why do you frown upon the use of information?
VERTIGO: The Internet has made libraries obsolete...
ARROW: There are many ways to 'celebrate knowledge.'
VERTIGO: Are you referring to pulp-fiction and movies?
ARROW: No (not necessarily); I'm referring to picture-books!
VERTIGO: Sorry, I don't like comic book renditions of Chaucer.
ARROW: Even scholars appreciate pictorial 're-presentations of Chaucer.
VERTIGO: Are you suggesting that The Canterbury Tales is merely a play?
ARROW: No, but Chaucer himself might argue that pictures complement words.
VERTIGO: I simply don't see the intellectual value of bumper-stickers and logos.
ARROW: You fail to see the 'human value' of commerce and toys!
VERTIGO: Knowledge is not a toy; and eBay is hardly a Congress...
ARROW: If you concede that pictures complement learning, will you depart?
VERTIGO: Prove that daydreams are not childish, and I will concede defeat...
ARROW: I will prove that with this riddle --- "Why are dreams never redundant?"
VERTIGO: I concede I have no answer, so I'll depart!
ARROW: We'll meet again, and remember --- imagination justifies adventures!
VERTIGO: Farewell, Arrow.
ARROW: May peace reign on Wall Street.

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