At the time that I am writing this, Donald Trump has lost the US election. Debates are still raging on the result but for the sake of immediate simplicity, I will assume that Joe Biden will be his replacement. I am not American, I have never lived for extended periods of time in the United States and, consequently, I do not believe that I can grasp the full extent of this result, even with 24h media coverage, as a native US citizen would. That's the reality. Fiction, however, is a bit different. One of my readers challenged me to assess Donald Trump's Human Value Index as if he were a character in my latest novel called Market Dystopia.
"How many points do you think he had on his HVI before the election and how many do you think he has now?" she asked.
"I don't know. That's a weird question."
"No, it's not. I think he has lost more than 500 points. I even bet that he fell into the 400 - 700 range if not lower."
"That's pushing it. He would not need to be the US president to remain in the 701 - 1000 + points range. HVI values do not fluctuate that much within the top range even when the individual in question faces significant setbacks. Once you're in that range, everything around you runs on automatic pilot for you to stay in it. Same for Joe Biden by the way. I'm not worried about him. He'll be in that top category no matter what. The story is different for those in the lower ranges. That's 99% of the people in Market Dystopia. THEY have to struggle to avoid losing points and seeing their lives turn to hell."
For those wondering what the Human Value Index is all about, it is the fictitious application in Market Dystopia that has replaced all the social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn etc) that were created in the first quarter of the 21st century. The year is 2053 and your ability to live and thrive in a global city is entirely conditioned by the value that the HVI application applies to you. If the value of a citizen drops below 50 points, he or she is deemed unfit to live in a global city and is hunted down by a bunch of psychopathic urban mercenaries that take no prisoners. Let's assume that Donald Trump was part of Market Dystopia. He would definitely be in the 701 - 1000 + points range. The description of this range is the following: "The most powerful range as defined by the Human Value Index application. People in this group score very highly on all fronts and often have competitive edges that cannot be matched despite significant efforts carried out by individuals with lower HVI values. Their attributes mean that they are almost always at the top of the food chain in global cities. Genetics, upbringing, social context and capital, all of which are either inherited or developed, mean that they can operate at levels that are, mostly, out of reach for individuals with HVI values that are less than 700 points. It is the most stable range but also the most difficult to reach."
But here's the catch regarding Donald Trump: the fact that he would be in this range does not mean that he would be close to the upper limit at all. As a matter of fact, and according to the logic of Market Dystopia, he would be somewhere around 800 points. Why so low? Well, first of all, the most powerful people in the Market Dystopia universe are those that are completely invisible to the masses. The politicians are pawns that are moved on a chessboard and given orders as is the case for Albert Richmond, the Mayor of London in the novel. "Invisibility" is very highly prized by the top dogs in Market Dystopia and they take full advantage of the social media frenzy where 99% of the people below them feel compelled to throw their lives on the internet. The fact that Donald Trump would be visible outside of ultra-secretive circles in Market Dystopia already disqualifies him as a major player. The rule is: once you are seen, you can never be admitted in these circles again.
Secondly, the man is past his prime. Young people who were born after the year 2000 probably have a vague idea of the Donald Trump of the 1980s. It is this version of Donald Trump that would have been hitting levels above 1000 points in Market Dystopia. Not the guy that we saw since 2015. HVI levels in the novel fluctuate like share prices on a stock exchange but the level of Donald Trump would not have been significantly volatile. It would have been in decline. In Market Dystopia, he would be facing at 1500 + points goliaths staring down at him.
800 points on the Human Value Index. Would that change? I don't know.
Happy reading,
Ashley Boolell Cover photo of the article by Greg Goose on Pixabay
Market Dystopia is available in the Amazon Bookstore on the following links: Amazon UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/Market-Dystopia-Ashley-BOOLELL-ebook/dp/B08K9G1DXK/
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