Contents

Graham ‘Gramskii’ Hall Illustrations by Paul ‘Taz’ Taylor (SKIP TO CONTENTS)

Self Published by Gramskii Copyright © Graham Hall 2024 Paperback ISBN 978-1-0686539-0-2 www.dragonbook.orgwww.thetrustworthy.org

FOR Sarah, Stan, Mack & Sydney

Fairy tales do not tell children that dragons exist. Children already know this. Fairy tales tell children the dragon can be killed.G. K. Chesterton You never change things by fighting the existing reality.… Read more: Epigraph

Thanks to my wife Sarah for financing this project and believing it was worth doing and that I could do it!And to Stan, Mack, Sydney & Tiger Lily for tolerating many months of… Read more: Thanks

An Allegory

This is Alice. Alice is a pretty terrific human being. There was a time when she didn’t have a care in the world, with her pink hair and nose stud. Still, these days,… Read more: 1. Alice’s Adventures

This is George. He has known Alice all his life and they are best friends. They grew up together, went to school together, worked together at the same factory, and now they even… Read more: 2. Incurious George

This is Dragon. He’s 50 metres tall and weighs 20,000 tonnes. And, to make things worse, when he’s angry (which is often), he breathes fire. But then, what do you expect from a… Read more: 3. Enter the Dragon

So it came as a surprise (and, frankly, an inconvenience) when, on Monday morning, there was a knock at Dragon’s door. “Who’s bothering me at this hour?” he grumbled, peering through the curtains.… Read more: 4. ESG #1 (Easy Signalling Gestures)

After the ordeal, Alice and George needed a drink, so they retired to their favourite pub to discuss how the meeting had gone. To be honest, they were both relieved to still have… Read more: 5. ESG #2 (Evade Scrutiny By Gaslighting)

Two more weeks passed, and again, little seemed to have changed. In fact, Alice and George wondered if things were now even worse. More coal seemed to be consumed, and more soot seemed… Read more: 6. ESG #3 (Elaborately Staged Greenwashing)

Alice and George were back at their usual table in their favourite pub, mulling over their most recent encounter with Dragon. They’d seen signs of vegan meals and exercise equipment, and the consultants… Read more: 7. Don’t Believe The Hype

Trying to figure out what made Dragon tick was exhausting work so George lay on his bed, closed his eyes and tried to imagine how it would feel to be a cold and… Read more: 8. Bad Dreams (are made of this)

George jolted awake, drenched in sweat, his heart pounding in his chest. The dream had seemed so real and he couldn’t shake off the unsettling feeling that he’d actually enjoyed himself. Knowing he… Read more: 9. Fever!

As they sat in the bar, Alice saw that something was troubling George. Given their recent lack of progress with Dragon, she assumed he simply felt defeated. Their boss constantly broke his promises, and… Read more: 10. How To Res(Train) A Dragon

Alice approached Dragon and forcefully said, “Take a seat.” Dragon was surprised by Alice’s boldness, so he thought he’d sit down and see what happened next. “We can’t make you keep your promises,”… Read more: 11. The Drugs Don’t Work

“So here’s what you’re going to have to do.” Said Alice forcefully. If you’re willing to take this first step,”she continued,” you might discover that Power isn’t all that great after all.” “And… Read more: 12. Tried To Make Him Go To Rehab

Obviously, this was not what Dragon had expected when he’d opened his door that morning. In fact, he doubted anyone would have expected a plot twist like this in a children’s story! But,… Read more: 13. Hooked On A Feeling

You probably thought this was already a strange story, but hang on because here’s where it gets really bizarre. With all this new information, Dragon began to feel confused and disorientated, so he… Read more: 14. Exit The Dragon

“George!” Yelled Alice, running up to him. “I’ve been looking all over for you. Did you hear the news? The Dragon has gone!” Alice placed her arm around George’s shoulder and steered him… Read more: 15. Cold Turkey

Alice took a big gulp of her beer and mulled over what had happened to Dragon. “You know, there’s one last reason Dragon was so powerful.” “What’s that?” asked George nervously, hoping Alice… Read more: 16. Don’t Stop Believing

“Cheers to that,” George agreed, still feeling like a fraud. He could still remember the thrill he’d felt inside the dragon suit, so he asked, “But won’t folks still want to buy fancy… Read more: 17. (Picking Up) Good Vibrations

As George listened to these exciting new ideas, he realised he had to come clean with Alice. “Alice, I’ve got something to tell you,” he said nervously. “Two nights ago, I had a… Read more: 18. Here’s To Life

An Explainer

… “That’s a wrap!” Yelled the Director with a mixture of triumph and relief, ending the shooting for the day and the movie’s final scene. The previously silent ‘pub’ suddenly burst into life… Read more: 1: The Wrap Party – WHAT’S GOING ON?

George and the Director had sat in the gradually emptying studio for over an hour. During this time, various heads had popped around the door to say goodnight, some waving a cheery bye!… Read more: 2: Twickenham To Kew –  DAZED AND CONFUSED

3.1. The Four Horsemen (of the GRiFTer Apocalypse) “So that’s a brief history of Capitalism, which I hope you found enlightening, George?” In response,George offered a somewhat resigned nod of his head. “It’s… Read more: 3: Kew To Hammersmith – DIRTY WORK

4.1: A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall (late-stage Capitalism) “Jeez!” blurted George, exasperated by this anti-capitalist onslaught. “How am I supposed to handle all of this information? If half of what you’re telling me is… Read more: 4: Hammersmith To Battersea – WALK ON BY

5.1.  Mind Blowing Decisions George motioned the Director towards the restaurant, aware that it was 10:45 pm and the restaurant staff would be preparing to close. At the entrance, the maître d’hôtel welcomed… Read more: 5: Late-Night Meal – CAN’T GET NO SATISFACTION

6.1. We Kill The Sacred Cow* Tonight, So Stick Around (*neoliberal Capitalism) The Director and George had now drawn out their late-night meal for as long as they possibly could, and as they… Read more: 6: The Nightcap Pt.1 – CH-CH-CH-CH-CHANGES…

7.1.  I Can See Clearly Now The Director sat back and smiled reflectively. “George, if Karl Marx were here with us now, I’ve a feeling he’d be pretty disappointed with how things have… Read more: 7: The Nightcap Pt.2 – ALL THINGS MUST PASS

8.1. Cloudbusting “So that’s more or less all I have to tell you,” said the Director. “I’ve reminded you just how dangerous the climate crisis is; I’ve explained that we must stop being… Read more: 8: The Elevator Pitch – MOVE ON UP