Inauguration Day or The Man in the High Castle

The Amazon series The Man in the High Castle based on Philip K. Dick’s l962 novel of the same name is becoming prescient. Dick envisioned an alternate universe in which the axis powers won the Second World War dividing the spoils, ie the US amongst them. Philip Roth’s 2004 The Plot Against America painted a similar kind of parallel universe catalyzed by a putative Charles Lindbergh victory in the l940 election against Roosevelt. Today it’s no longer the Axis powers that are a threat but the Russians. Joseph McCarthy is probably peeing in his grave. The paranoiac vision of Dr. Strangelove is now coming true replete with the ultimate mole, in the form of a newly elected president. Actually most publishers wouldn’t even have accepted this novel, as it doesn’t allow for the willing suspension of disbelief. However, here it all is, real estate ventures, branding deals, golden showers all provided under the watchful eye of Russian intelligence, a practice know as Kompromat which is a far cry from the old Samizdat. In this new version of The Man in a High Castle President Trump appoints President Putin as director of the C.I.A in attempt to create a new business model of international relations, in which annexations and even invasions are simply looked through the lens of a business model, as mergers and acquisitions. Thus it doesn’t matter if Russia acquires the United States or the United States acquires Russia. In the net result, the two countries become one big happy family ruled by Putin & Trump LLC.