Tyrus
Comes now the story of Tyrus
Tyrus was born a curious man who became educated in the intersection of culture and power. He studied authoritarians, politicians, kings, despots, emperors and those who were generally mad with power. These types of people Tyrus called lions for their brutal and yet regal stature.
Tyrus also focused on the malcontents, the rebels and those who were born to fight against the tide. They were the contrarians and the disaffected icons. He called these types the hyenas for their antagonistic and outcast reputation.
When it came to sociopolitical endeavors, he learned that there was little difference in the personalities between lions and hyenas. In fact most of what seemed to separate his two groups boiled down to opportunity, education, wealth and luck.
The sun visited him one day and told Tyrus that while he was a humble academic, he would follow the path of those he studied. Tyrus was confused because the sun was not clear on which he would become. Tyrus decided that the sun was wrong. He had no intention of becoming a king, an assassin, a lion or hyena.
His work became well noted amongst academics in his field and was well read. Some journalists began to take note. When high profile sociopolitical events arose that involved regime change or some terrorist attack, reporters would seek out Tyrus’ opinion to help make sense of the event.
Tyrus enjoyed the attention. He craved it and lived for it. The proliferation of his media profile spawned a following of his works and other experts began echoing his ideas. Some repackaged his works and ascribed their own euphemisms and named their own theories. As years passed, these more creative experts edged Tyrus out of media coverage. This angered him. He spoke with a journalist who used to call on him for commentary and asked why journalists no longer sought his opinion. The journalist told Tyrus that though he was a pioneer in the study of lions and hyenas, other experts were more entertaining.
This infuriated Tyrus. He was crowded out of a field that he helped create. And his being ostracized had nothing to do with not being good enough but because he was too boring.
Needing attention, Tyrus sought to recreate his work with more exciting anecdotes and colorful language. It worked somewhat and he enjoyed more calls from journalists. Ultimately, it did not bring him to his former glory. Tyrus was associated too much with the first iteration of his theories. He lived in a world where the worst thing a person could be was boring and that was him.
So Tyrus devised a plan. He secured a position on a televised discussion panel about a famous political assassin. The panel featured several politicians including a former governor. When the cameras started rolling, Tyrus spoke up over the host and gave a speech about how vital it was to be seen and heard when it came to being a thought leader. His fellow panelists were confused. Tyrus then pulled out a knife and approached the former governor. The host pleaded for Tyrus to think about his actions. Tyrus did and then slashed the statesman’s throat, deciding it was far more important to be infamous than irrelevant.