I have been working on a fiction novel called "The People's Republic of Retail" since July of 2010. It's basically a cartoon-y surrealistic tale of people who work at a retail store called Mega★Mart (similar to Wal-Mart) who get fed up with their ill treatment and have a revolution in which they take over the store. The story centers on two mains characters - Eric George, a self proclaimed "man of the people" who doesn't like people very much and M.Alice who has many axes to grind and will do so by any means necessary. It's basically an allegory of George Orwell's "Animal Farm". So... an allegory of an allegory. After the Oktober Revolution, this happens...
The Mega★Mart sign is taken down...
and the UTOPIA sign goes up.
After M.Alice turns evil and banishes Eric George, UTOPIA becomes DYSTOPIA.
Shortly after the revolution, when jubilation is at its highest, the "people" decide on 10 Edicts. These are to serve as the 10 commandments of the new store.
Utopia's 10 Edicts
(M.Alice reads them off. Eric George is putting on the finishing touches with a can of Neon Green spray paint)
1. NO UNIFORMS
2. NO PROPAGANDA MEETINGS
3. SOURCE LOCAL
4. CHEAPER IS NOT ALWAYS BETTER
5. NO SCHEDULE CHANGE WITHOUT CAUSE
6. PUSH THE HEALTHY ITEMS
7. OFFICES ALWAYS OPEN
8. JOB SECURITY
9. STRENGTHEN THE COMMUNITY
10. EQUAL PAY FOR ALL
After M.Alice takes over and Eric George is banished, a few changes are instituted...
DYStopia's 10 EDICTS
1. UNIFORMS (M.Alice gets a cheap deal on wool uniforms from Kazakhstan)
2. MEETINGS 4 X DAILY
3. SOURCE GLOBALLY
4. CHEAPER IS ALWAYS BETTER
5. SCHEDULES CHANGE WITHOUT CAUSE
6. PUSH THE SNACK CAKES
7. OFFICES CLOSED
8. THERE IS NO JOB SECURITY
9. STRENGTHEN THE COMPANY
10. EQUAL PAY FOR ALL LOWER CASTE ASSOCIATES
