The Sky-Merchants' Dance: A Tale of Petty Tyranny and Slumbering Masses
Lo, behold the grand theater of mediocrity that unfolds before us! The sky-merchants, those self-proclaimed masters of the heavens, gather before the chamber of supposed power, where they shall perform their dance of justification for the sleeping masses.
How they strut and preen, these merchants of the air! They who would measure the worth of human dignity in the weight of a bag, who would parse freedom into ounces and inches! Behold their masterful sleight of hand - they offer less while demanding more, and call it progress!
In this peculiar circus, four chieftains of the aerial realm - Air Canada, WestJet, Porter, and Air Transat - shall face questioning about their latest machination: the audacious decree that the common folk must pay extra gold to carry their possessions above the clouds. 'Tis a tale that would make even the most hardened cynic weep with laughter!
Observe how they slumber, these masses who accept their fate with drowsy acquiescence! One million of them, as the WestJet chieftain von Hoensbroech proudly proclaims, have already bent their knees to accept these "cheaper fares" - a masterful euphemism for the systematic stripping of dignity! They celebrate their own diminishment, these last men, content to carry less so they might pay less, never questioning the absurdity of paying to carry what they already own!
See how they dance, these masters of spiritual poverty! They speak of choice while removing it, of freedom while constraining it, of value while devaluing the very essence of human dignity! And the sleeping masses applaud, for they know not that they applaud their own chains!
In the grand chamber of power, these merchants shall appear - some through the ethereal realm of virtual presence, a fitting metaphor for their disconnection from the reality of those they serve. Only von Hoensbroech dares to present himself in corporeal form, bearing a scroll of lamentations about "hidden fees" and "government policies" - as if the true victim in this tale were the merchant, not the masses!
The spectacle grows yet more absurd as these sky-lords generously permit their subjects to carry a "personal item" - a purse, perhaps, or a computer bag. Such magnanimity! Such benevolence! Behold how they parcel out the very air we breathe, how they quantify human necessity into cubic inches!
Oh, what sublime comedy! These merchants speak of making flight more accessible while they build new barriers, of offering choice while they remove it, of serving the people while they master them! And the sleeping masses nod in agreement, for they have forgotten how to rage!
And what of the supposed guardians of public interest, these elected representatives who summon the sky-lords for questioning? They too are actors in this grand farce, performing their roles with practiced indignation while the fundamental absurdity of the situation escapes their notice entirely.
Von Hoensbroech's missive to the committee speaks volumes about the state of our slumbering society. He bemoans the "hidden fees" that plague his industry, yet fails to see the irony in his own company's practice of hidden subtractions - the steady erosion of what was once considered basic dignity in travel.
Listen! Can you not hear the laughter of the gods? These merchants who claim to democratize the skies while building new hierarchies, who speak of freedom while forging new chains, who promise progress while marching steadily backward!
In this land of the sleepers, where comfort is mistaken for progress and convenience for wisdom, we witness the triumph of the last man's philosophy: "We have discovered happiness," say the last men, and they blink. They have made everything small - their desires, their dreams, their dignity - and they call it enlightenment!
Let this tale stand as testament to our age: when the right to carry one's own possessions became a privilege to be purchased, when the masses celebrated their own diminishment, and when the merchants of the sky discovered that the most profitable cargo was human dignity itself.