The accumulation of wealth is a trait unique to humans. Only that two-legged virus known as humanity is driven to accumulate wealth.
In a laughable, hopeless attempt to create security, humans have created a system whereby they place a value on their time (as if you can measure infinity). Depending on how they use their time, their society credits them with units of measurement called "money." And that's all money is- just a measurement of how one spends their time.
Humans, driven by an insatiable ego that makes each one think that he or she is different than all the others, then compare amongst themselves who spends their time most wisely by measuring who has the most money. Whoever has the most money is judged to have the most freedom. And whoever is the most free is the most powerful.
I am the wealthiest creature in Oz. And my empire sprung from the sound of munchkins singing.
It all went down just after Dorothy left. I choose not to talk about those days, only to acknowledge that after certain events passed, I was again on my own.
The authorities had been looking for me and I was hiding in some bushes just east of Emerald City. A light rain fell when I first heard them sing a dark, mournful song with tiny voices that seemed to pull heaven down to the very earth on which I walked. It was beautiful. They sang to a munchkin who had perished in some sort of battle, or maybe an accident.
The little body was perched on a stack of wood as they gathered around his corpse. As several of them touched their torches to the small pyre, they started to sing their sweet, glorious song. It was unbelievably sad and beautiful, all at once. I could not help but weep. I had never heard anything so strange, so intoxicating, in my entire life. I wanted to hear it again and again, but the song, like the flames, soon came to an end.
Thirsting for this beauty that I had not ever experienced, I found myself seeking these services out, hiding in bushes, alleys, trees... wherever I could conceal myself to witness this glorious experience. This singing. It was music. I became obsessed with the different songs, the voices, the words that flowed from their tiny hearts. They never saw me.
And then one evening while walking through Emerald City late in the evening, I noticed some humans standing around some sort of machine. The sound of singing- detestable, atonal human singing, came from this machine. I had never seen anything like it. The humans standing around it were smiling and weaving slightly, in rhythm to these grotesque sounds. I realized in that moment that the sound of singing had somehow been captured and that it could now be played again and again.
I was speechless. I sought out my remaining friends in the human communities and asked about this machine. They told me that a technology had been developed where sounds could be captured (recorded) and reproduced (replayed) at will.
My first thought was to get a machine to capture the sound of munchkins singing. I needed it. Somehow I new it could restore sanity in times of fear and discomfort.
Myself a beneficiary of technology, it had only been a year or two since I had undergone the rudimentary special-fusion procedure that changed my musculoskeletal makeup to more closely resemble that of humanoids. My claws were bent inwards, to allow me limited benefits of an opposable digit. A thumb, if you will. My hips were adjusted backwards and my spine straightened to allow me to walk on two legs just as easily as on four. I preferred to stand on two feet among humans and munchkins because on two legs, I stood over ten feet tall- a height never achieved by any humanoid. But I was still a lion and I engendered the respect and terrible fear that accompanies my species.
I'll admit that it was through pure intimidation and manipulation that I funded my enterprise. Collecting debts for human landowners and wealthy munchkins, I took a sizable percentage of monies recovered, using the human wealth system for my own aims. The work was easy for me, although I occasionally had to back up my threats with lethal force. As I said before, these people created their own problems and I was simply the inevitable consequence of their short-sightedness. As my reputation for violence spread, resistance waned and collecting debts became easier and easier. It got boring.
After several years working in the shadows of the barely-legal and criminal worlds, I had accumulated both considerable wealth and a network of influential partners and underworld associates. The underbelly of Oz is dark with lust, violence, and greed, just like any other large city and I was able to use these proclivities to advance my prominence in society.
When the timing was right, I turned to my legitimate business contacts and amassed the team that would build my empire. With seemingly limitless funding, paid by blood and human weakness, I launched my corporation in a year- Pride Multimedia. Underneath this company I built my first record label, as well as a production studio.
I was the first to record the songs of the munchkins and quickly trebled my profits as the masses hungrily clamored for copies of these recordings. The recordings proved more successful than anyone could have predicted. Money and power amassed at my feet as people from all walks of life petitioned me for my influence. Shortly after releasing our first munchkin recording, I moved our offices to the top floors of the tallest building in Oz, which I bought in its entirety just two years later.
I moved myself into a luxury penthouse across town, eventually taking several floors for my staff and my own private recording studios.
As my wealth grew, so did my power and soon I held sway over the most influential politicians in the entire land.
I am now the most powerful creature in all of Oz.
Hear me roar.
Author’s Notes: If you think the Lion is a hero, well, you’d be wrong. Was he? Debatable. Depends on whether you’re a fan of The Wizard of Oz or Wicked. I’m a fan of both, but in this story, you’ll see that I lean to the latter. In the latter, unaware or innocent or misled or not, Dorothy and her crew of the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion, kill the Wicked Witch of the West, aka Elphaba, the main character and heroine of Wicked. So, if the aforementioned crew are heroes, well, it depends on your perspective.
In Dorothy: Locked & Loaded, all of them (save Dorothy) are morally gray characters, each with their own vices and each with their own sins. Some will choose to atone. Some will choose to despair. Some will choose to wallow in their wickedness (define that!). All of them will make a choice in the end. All of them will ultimately decide who they are.
Who is the Lion? He is everything you see above and more. You can catch his episodes here: Episode 5, Episode 10, Episode 16, Episode 21. What will happen to the Lion? Oh, you’ll see.
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