Putin speaks.
The world has not yet acknowledged how complete my domination has been.
From here, in Moscow, I can choose to kill every day. The number I want killed is entirely up to me. I can say, let me fire a missile into this town… no, let me hit the other town… or better yet, both towns. And no one can stop me. No one.
I wield absolute power.
In Washington, Biden scratches his head, every day, wondering how he could stop me. But nothing comes to him.
How have I acquired my power? By building my nuclear arsenal, steadily, improving it and making it clear I’m willing to use it… and by convincing my people that I know best.
How I managed to convince so many people will be studied by historians for years – how I stripped the majority of Russians of the will to be their own person.
And so the world is in awe of me… some may hate me… but they’re in awe of my power.
I can fire a missile or several, to Washington, to New York, to San Francisco, to London, to Paris, to Madrid… I can destroy Singapore… Tokyo… Manila… Mumbai… Delhi… and why spare South America… how about Buenos Aries… Rio… Santiago… Sao Paulo… then Melbourne… Sydney… and I can fire them at the same time.
I might even send one to the International Court of Justice in The Hague… take care of all those judges while they’re at work… Gordon Brown in England was blabbering the other day about charging me with crimes against humanity. He’d better watch his mouth.
And how I love to see the deference that world leaders show me… every single one of them… for when they come to me they come to see the king.
I look into their eyes carefully and notice how a handshake is not quite enough… that they’d rather bow to me… the deeper the bow the better… and I love it.
Even Xi Jinping… he knows he’s been helpful so that gives him some protection… but it’s up to me, isn’t it… up to me to spare him… for if I get pissed off I’ll bomb the crap out of China, too.
Nero… the emperor… got to see his Rome burn… it must have been exhilarating… but I can add it to my list and see the whole world burn.
I have been able to climb to this position because of my complete subjection of the Russian people. All of them. And those who brand themselves ultranationalists… I let them talk and be critical… but the day I find no use for them or get tired… I’ll round them up and eliminate them. Every single one of them.
He’s been sitting at his desk, now he swivels a little, crosses his legs.
Have I crossed the line?
Yes… I have. There’s no way back for me.
But no modern day leader can say what I can say today… I dominate the world.
I know it won’t last… nothing does… but I’m enjoying the thrill.
Still, I have choices… I can go down in flames with the entire world… exhaust my nuclear arsenal… fire all my missiles and bombs… kill as many as I possibly can… watch hundreds of millions of people destroyed by my fury… bring humanity to their knees… or I can take pity and spare some nations.
He nods to himself.
I know my end is approaching.
It’s been terribly exciting… festive… a carnival of death.
And yet… I’d like to be remembered, too… yes… no point in killing everybody. I know I will die in my fury but I’d like to be remembered… so I must spare some people so they can tell the story… if I have an Achilles heel, then that is it… that I don’t want to see history end.
I want the world to have a memory of me. I want to be studied and quoted and seen as so significant a force that from here on history will be divided into the before Putin era – bP – and the after Putin era – aP.
But can anyone stop me?
He pauses as he joins his hands in his lap.
Only the daring… the very bold… only the willing to sacrifice everything to save the world.
Save it… yes… from me.
I know there are people like that… men and women… now planning to strike the fatal blow…
I can feel it…
But I’d prefer that it be one of my own… a courageous Russian.
Oscar Valdes 