Archive of Our Own

When I walked into my apartment, the world’s most powerful telepath was sitting on my couch drinking a latte.

Normally I would have welcomed this opportunity. I was part of an Etienne Lux fanclub after all, and he seemed generally cool, but it had been a long day and I was not emotionally ready for this.

“Oh, good, you’re here,” Etienne Lux, my personal hero, said. “I think we can skip the introductions, given the nature of the… me.” He gestured at his wiry form.

I stood still in my doorframe for way longer than I would have liked to.

“I’m thinking through some things, and I realized that you would be of a predisposition that could help me process.” He sipped his latte. “Earlier today, you said to your ‘fan club’ that I should take over the world?”

Shit.

The problem with this guy being the most powerful telepath in the world is that there is no way to lie to him. Unless he was as ethical as he pretended to be and didn’t double-check.

“Wow… uh…”

Great start. OK. Back to lying to Etienne Lux.

“I can save you a ton of time right now, if you’d like,” Lux said. “Normally, I wouldn’t intrude and would wait for you to answer the question, but I suspect that even if I were not what I am I’d have some indication of how uncomfortable I’ve made you. My apologies.”

I nodded silently.

“First, there’s nothing to be scared of. In fact, it’s important you’re not scared of me,” he continued. “Second, I thought about it. Taking over the world is what you may call the best bad option.”

Lux stood up and began pacing across my living room.

“It’s a good argument. Given a true democracy, people tend towards images of stability. This allows the charismatic to dominate, whether or not they have the interests of the public in mind. And yes, it is extremely frustrating to watch it happen time and again.”

He spun around, facing me.

“So why don’t I stop it?” He paused. “Because if I did, then I’d just be my own charismatic strongman. And who’s to say I’m right either? Intellectually, I’m something of a parasite. I depend so heavily on the opinions of others that I might as well not have opinions of my own. So why put me in charge at all?”

He was standing uncomfortably close now.

“Do you see the problem I have? Every day I have to walk through this logic and convince myself that I am not God. That I should not rule the world. I hope it terrifies you as much as it terrifies me, because that fear means that you still expect other people to act rationally and ethically.”

Lux opened the door.

“So that’s why I don’t take over the world. That, and I promised a friend in exchange for her not doing it either. But I needed someone to know the scope and scale of the threats facing the world. It helps me remember what it must be like if I can see the fear on your face.”

He stepped out of the apartment.

“I signed a couple posters for you as compensation for your time. But this was a good conversation, thank you for having it. And don’t worry, you won’t remember the fear you feel right now.”

As the door closed, I tried to remember what had just happened. I think Etienne Lux visited me? He had to, there were signed posters on my kitchen table.