“Olympus Solutions” | Erin Robinsong | Story Intensive 2016
Dear Chase,
“Olympus Solutions”, in my reading, is a story of corporate power and greed in a world
that looks very much like 2016, peopled by ancient Greek gods. It is both a satire of
corporate culture and rhetoric, and a frighteningly accurate portrayal of the amount of
power these flawed and self-interested corporate ‘Gods’ possess, making decisions from
on high that influence the mortal world in ways they can’t quite comprehend or care
about. Interpersonal dynamics and conflicting world views between these characters
dominate the boardroom, making for a dysfunctional and childish environment in which
they create new weapons that have the capacity to wreak havoc in the real world. Human
protesters are ignored as little more than small specks shouting down below. Even
politicians dwarf in comparison to the power and influence of corporate heads Zeus,
Hera, Kronos, Pandora, etc, who move, think and behave with a stunning similarity to
corporate power today, as this story intelligently, humorously and darkly illuminates.
What’s working!
Themes: You’ve brought together such surprising and unlikely worlds here in a way that
creates natural-feeling connections and fresh/ancient ways to understand corporate
power. While global capitalism on the one hand might seem to be a secular pinnacle of
godlessness, this story shows how corporate highrises are in fact the new temples and
pantheons, and that the pyramids of power today are in some ways no different from ones
that have been dismantled in the past – that of feudalism, the church, etc. You forge these
connections with a light touch, trusting your reader to use their own intelligence to make
links. You do this in part by fusing together elements of both ancient and contemporary
worlds, to make a third, doubly-resonant world. For instance, in Hephaestus’ “signature
defense system, which harnessed nuclear energy to weaponize thunder. He called it the
“Sonic Bomb,” I immediately think of Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) Sound
Cannons used on protestors at Standing Rock (for instance). Or when you bring together
the mundane presentation style and rhetoric of powerpoints with the terrifying subject
matter they actually outline, I think of Arendt’s notion of the banality of evil that allowed
the Holocaust to unfold, from an administrative point of view. This is very skillfully
done.
Style: You’ve captured corporate rhetoric and PR so closely it makes the satire sublime
and chilling. For instance, in the presentation on “Narration Branding” phrases like
“Connecting Our Clients: The Core of PNDB is the Creation of Mutually Beneficial
Relationships” or “We work with our hearts as much as our heads” feel both absolutely
ridiculous and also stunningly accurate parody of the way language is used to manipulate
people’s emotions around issues such as the US election, pipeline expansion, etc. It’s also
reminiscent of newspeak in Orwell’s 1984. The visual style (and font!) of the powerpoint
presentation contributes to the overall environment that you create through language,
Greek references, corporate references, and other contemporary references such as
protein bars, ‘best practices’, ‘mindfulness’ etc – all of which creates a brilliantly
believable and crackling world.
“Olympus Solutions” | Erin Robinsong | Story Intensive 2016
Character: The characters are both familiar and surprising. Using their Greek names
really works, along with directly and slightly altered/contemporized versions of their
ancient habits feels endlessly satisfying and fruitful – for instance when the mail arrives:
“Oh how wonderful!” Pandora laughed, “something to open!” Or Kronos, in the middle
of an important meeting, contributing: “I would like a fry up.” These small actions, along
with whatever vague or researched or remembered knowledge of Greek mythology (as
characters, they work with any amount of knowledge, because they are such archetypes),
bring them to life brilliantly and hilariously. Again, your decision to use Greek
mythology as a scaffold for hanging the contemporary (or is it the other way around) is so
effective and irresistible.
Potential for Development & Expansion
My main question is about where you will go from here. Is this the beginning of a longer
work? It feels like it could be – now that you have this world, these characters, the drama
feels like it could develop much more if you wanted to (given that these are Greek gods,
the drama of course is never ending, so it’s up to you to decide how far you want to
follow them – but I could imagine this as a novel or a TV series). You could continue to
tackle nearly any contemporary issue you wanted to – mansplaining, political scandal, the
email scandal which you allude to in the ppt presentation – etc! It also works well as a
long story, but I am also curious about your plans for it.
If you took it further, it would be very interesting to develop your scenes so that you take
your reader deeper into the private worlds of these characters, who so far we know in a
public / work context – I would love to see what else is boiling beneath the surface of,
say Hera and Zeus’s relationship, for instance, or Pandora’s love of opening boxes, or
what kinds of things she unleashes, etc.
Thanks Chase – it’s a truly enjoyable read, while also being serious political
commentary, and the combination is brilliant.