Short Story: Just a Genius
Oh, I’m not insane. I’m smart. I’m a genius! Such a genius that they declared me mad and locked me away! Ha! Can you believe it? Me? Mad! What a humorous thought. No. I’m not mad even though that is something a fool who has gone mad would say. No. I’m not mad. I’m simply a genius.
I created something that changed the city. No, no. It changed more than the city. It changed the empire! I..I changed the world! Yes! That is what I did. I did what no mere man could do! I changed the world! I didn’t travel far, I didn’t declare myself a god though…if I’ve already gone mad I might as well. No. I didn’t brag or have a bard sing a song with a victorious verse about what I’ve done. Though I should have done both of those things. Yes. I should have declared myself a man sent from the heavens with a gift from our beloved gods and have a bard extravagantly sing about me!
Then I would have been celebrated instead of declared mad. That was the one mad thing I did. I didn’t declare myself a god even though I did something that only a god is worthy of. No. I was declared mad instead. My creation was passed on and I was forgotten as its creator.
I made a creation to change the city. That was brilliant! Yes, brilliant. I do many things that are. I gave my creation to a man. That was not brilliant. I do some things that are not brilliant. Handing it away was something a fool would do. A fool that was not a genius. Not brilliant. Maybe I should have…no. No. I am not a fool. I am a genius! A genius! Yes. That is what I am. Not a fool and not a mad man.
That talk of me going mad is starting to get to my head. Ha! To think that a mere man could influence a god such as myself to believe that! Ha! Humans are such silly things. Yes. They are. Silly...small..little pests. Ungrateful too. Very ungrateful. I give them a gift, my perfect creation, and they toss me away. They marked me a fool, told me that I was mad, and claimed my creation as their own.
Oh those fools. Foolish humans. They disowned their god and stole my creation. How many things have they stolen from us? No. I mustn't let their madness get to my head. I need to stay calm. I am a genius, not a mad man and definitely not a foolish human. Yes. Yes. I am a genius that made an invention that changed the world. That is what I am.
Not necessarily a god. No. Not that. Just a genius who gave humans their greatest gift. I am a genius. Aren’t I? You would know. You’ve seen my creation. You know how much it has changed. Don’t you appreciate what I’ve done for humanity? What my creation has created itself? You see it. I know you do. Yes you do.
I am the genius that gave humanity its greatest gift! A gift that nobody would dare take credit for. My creation inspired thousands of men. It manipulated their minds, shaping them after my creation. I changed the world, yes I did. I can see it now! Oh! Look at what I’ve done! Look at all that I have done! Oh…what have I done?
I didn’t think this far ahead. I am a genius, yes. There is no doubt about it. I am not mad. A genius is never mad, but even a genius can’t predict everything that their little creation can do. Can they? No. I didn’t think beyond my creation. Does that make me mad? No, no. It does not. I will always be a genius, but never be mad though being locked in this…this…prison for so long might drive me there.
Or simply…have I been mad all along? Afterall, my creation was used to change the world in a way that even a genius, such as myself, couldn’t predict. Couldn’t predict. A god could have predicted this. I did not. I am not a god as I previously thought. No. That is not me. I’m simply a genius.
If I were a god I would have known my creation would be used for more than hunting beasts. I would have known that creating such a thing would inspire so many others to create something better than what I made. I see it now, yes. I have doomed humanity. Unintentionally of course. That was never my intention.
Though, it is not all bad what I have done. I did want a few fools dead for several years. No. What I created is not bad. Creating this did not drive me mad. It simply fell into the hands of fools. Yes. Fools that have gone mad. Unlike me…yes I am a genius. I created a device that allowed humans to kill beasts faster, more effectively, but the fools turned my creation on each other. Slaughtering rivals and neighbors like the beasts my creation was meant to hunt.
Ah. I hear the bells chiming. It must be my end. The genius who created a gift for humanity who should have been considered a god for all that they did. I am not a god. I am not a fool. I am a man, a genius of a man who created the very thing that would end my life. What a marvelous end. Ha! An end. Yes. I suppose every genius must meet an end. I am not a god. No. No I am not. I am simply the genius who gifted humanity a weapon to collect the souls of beasts.