“Good day,” greeted Sophia. “And welcome to Ambition.”
Arthur adjusted his thick, round glasses. “I’m, um, not really sure how this works,” he said, in a quiet voice.
“Ah, a newbie,” said Sophia quietly. “Don’t worry, sir, we’ll sort you out.”
Sophia turned on the PC atop the posh glass counter, and after a moment, called up a database.
“Alright,” she said. “You're file number one-nine-five-six-three-six. What’s your name?”
“Arthur Pritchard,” said Arthur.
“And what’s your ambition?”
“Well, I don’t know if I should say, I want to try this, or …” he said.
“Let your inhibitions go,” said Sophia, smiling at the little man. “Imagine when you were a child – how easy it was to name your ambition?” She looked into the middle distance. “Fireman! Astronaut! Ballet dancer! Those clichés never truly leave us, do they? They evolve.”
“I’d like to be a writer,” said Arthur quietly.
“Oh, lovely!” said Sophia, making a note. “We’ve launched many successful writers. What medium? Novels, television …?”
“Novels, yes,” said Arthur.
“And have you got anything written?”
“I’ve written a few short stories.” Arthur scratched his thick ginger moustache nervously. “I’ve brought a few with me if you’d like to take a look …”
“I’d like to make copies if you wouldn’t mind,” said Sophia. “But you’d better hang on to the originals.”
Arthur handed over his small bundle of papers, and Sophia scanned them into her computer.
“Now, do you understand how this works?” Sophia asked.
“Not really. My friend said something about points and …”
“It’s quite simple,” said Sophia, after Arthur had trailed off completely. “All our members earn points for helping out other members. The more points they have, the higher they climb our priority list.”
“I think I see …”
“The most useful members, therefore, are the most likely to be helped.”
“Ah.”
“But you’re in a great position,” she continued, smiling encouragingly. “Established members jump at the chance to help out new members, because they bring such a range of new opportunities. It’d be easier to help you get an interview with a publisher’s, for instance, than to increase the profile of a writer who’s been here for years.”
Arthur smiled, not entirely following the system.
“In summary, for your first few weeks – if not months – you’ll get plenty of help. After that, you’ll need to help others to boost your profile. Now, if I can take a few details …”
-10001-
Week One
“Good morning, Mr Pritchard. It’s Henry Smith speaking, from Random House Publishing. I’d like to offer you a tentative contract for this coming autumn’s release schedule.”
-10001-
Week Two
Felicity Goodman pointed once again to the flipchart.
“Sixty-eight per cent of the work is editing and re-draughting,” she said. “But a strong first draught is essential. So let’s start with a brainstorming session.”
-10001-
Week Three
A parcel arrived at Arthur’s house. A free trial of a professional text editing program. “Care of Dennis Freeman.”
-10001-
Week Four
“Hello, there. This is Kathy Smitham. An … anonymous party has booked one of our rooms for you for a week’s time. Although the time can be rearranged for convenience. Lovely countryside hotel, with excellent views. Very inspiring.”
-10001-
Autumn
“Arthur Pritchard’s debut novel, ‘The Secret Library’, stands out as a bold, experimental piece that has much to offer to readers of any age. One can but hope that this is merely the first of many installments demonstrating Pritchard’s surreal grasp of modern lifestyles and sensitive approach to the subject matter.”
-- Review by Megan Norris.
-10001-
Arthur walked into the tall, glass building, his head held high.
“Good morning, Sophia,” he greeted.
“Good morning, Mr Pritchard,” said Sophia.
“Thought I’d call in to thank you for the help,” he said, holding a copy of his newly-published book.
“I just filled in the form, Mr Pritchard,” said Sophia with a grin. “I don’t help people personally.”
“It’s a great feeling, this,” said Arthur, once again indicating his book. “To think that, less eight months ago, all I had was a handful of short stories.” He paused. “So … how many new members are there?”
“Plenty,” said Sophia. “One girl came in today wanting to climb Everest.”
“Ambitious!” said Arthur.
“That’s the name of the game.”
“You know,” said Arthur thoughfully. “I’ve got a friend in Nepal. I could find out if he could offer the girl a place to stay. Base of operations, as it were.”
“Good thinking,” said Sophia. She tapped away at the computer. “I’ve forwarded her details to you. She’d be thrilled to hear from you, I’m sure.”
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3 comments:
What a lovely idea for a story. Will there be more? There should be more. You should include the other characters and their ambitions, too - like George, and his ambition to meet the woman in orange.
I assume this is set in the same universe as your other characters, of course. Otherwise... forget George.
What a sinister re-invention of the Freemasons! I thought he was going to end up selling his soul for a moment. I'm glad it maintained its chilling affability. Top bananas Captain! I think there should be more.
I liked the progressive format of this. To me there does seem something sinister about it all, although possibly this is because I am a cynic. It's fine if your ambition is something nice like writing and climbing everest. But not everyone has nice ambitions. This might be an interesting angle to explore if you are taking it further, but it works quite well as a stand-alone about the nature of success.
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