The Grip of Greed
Since the beginning of civilization, one of the great flaws of the human race has been greed. This sensation is not a small craving, greed is defined as “ an intense and selfish desire for something, especially wealth, power, or food”. Each and every one of us has felt this powerful yearning for more than what we already have or need. In some, this desire for more completely devours them. People will go extremely far with manipulation and other methods to receive their satisfaction. Along with this, in more recent times, the vast amount of technology that is available produces more resources and techniques for people to get what they want. In the novel, Spark, the author Evan Angler, writes the story of a young girl, Abi. She is faced with being in a victims role, in a greedy man's plan to conquer more than what is necessary. The author touches close to our real world in his fictional book. It speaks out about how power hungry people can be, the ruthless actions they will take to ensure they get what they want, and how accessible and helpful technology is to assist them in their ventures. As stated before, the longing for more can be extremely powerful. Chancellor Cylis, already has supreme control of the Global Union, yet this is still not enough to satisfy him. This power hungry man cannot settle for what he has. There is always a next objective, “he thought long and hard about what he wanted next”(217). We see this often, once someone obtains wealth, their want becomes a personal need, to get more. People with power, cannot stop trying to get all of it. This character goes above and beyond in manipulating the young girl Abi, introducing himself as “Uncle Nico”, gaining her trust, and then literally stabbing her in the back. But because of his never ending greed, Cylis begins to get cocky and egotistical. In many accounts, the power these people have, begin to go to their head. They feel as if they are invincible, which makes them naive. These overconfident moments, usually lead to their own downfall. Greed can take a very significant toll on people’s human characteristics. It can begin to bring the selfishness directly to the top of a person’s personality, and change them completely. Their obligation to please themselves has a tendency to force them to have no regrets or any hesitation on hurting others. They begin to not even consider how they may affect the people around them. Cylis’s train of thought never veered away from his main goals. Within the novel, he thought clearly on his plans, striving for the power relentlessly, “The potential that was there .. . the power still untapped . ..”(218). Cylis had his main focus on the power he could obtain, and would do anything to have it. The relationships and trust he gained from other characters was absolutely meaningless to him, only existing simply to accompany the bigger picture he had set in mind. For example, he manipulated a nine year old girl into trusting him over everyone else on her side, because he wanted her power. Cylis selfishly interfered with the mind of a child, because in the end his wants were greater than any other individual and their needs. In Spark, the technology is much more advanced than our current times. Regardless, it has the same principle in perspective of greedy people using it in their advantage, or as their motive. As the chancellor, Cylis already had supreme control of the Global Union. His greed created the end goal of having complete control of the entire world, in order to do this, he needed to have the power over the Ultranet. Acquiring the dominance over the Ultranet, would let Cylis have authority over all of the technology in the world.Which he took into his own hands to guarantee his success, “It was the ultimate test of any true leader, and in the eyes of the IMPS occupying Cylis’s vast controlling Rank IMPS, their Chancellor had passed with flying colors” (287-288). While his selfishness and actions had already made him dangerous, this next level would have made him uncontrollable. The possibilities that technology made available in the novel is relatable into our world as well. It has created a place where anyone can do potentially anything, sometimes without consequences. The comparison between the two is unsettling and more real than you might think at first. Greed can take hold of people in a way that is unexplainable and hard to always comprehend. It can take away who they are, and replace them with a selfish human who doesn’t see past their own desires. In the mind of a person who is determined to have all the power they can obtain, their merciless actions and changed personality means close to nothing to them. Greed is evidently a very strong behavior that many people let get the best of them. It seems as if these people are controlled by this overwhelming need for more, rather than in control of themselves. Perhaps the longing for power and wealth is merely the opposite of what the greedy are seeking.
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