The price of an affluent society

      "An affluent society cannot afford advocates of its own destruction. A society that can destroy itself is an aggravated society suffering from an ailment that needs to be cured."

      These were the thoughts of the secret agent as he prepared to afflict harm on Hamilton Smith, the leader of a prominent government advisory committee. Mr. Smith was determined to affect the course of history by affirming a new order. He wanted to destroy all that was good and begin again with how he thought a country should run.

      This agenda was unacceptable to the top-secret agency that really ruled the country. And it was this agency that found an agreeable agent to sacrifice himself for his country by murdering Hamilton Smith in front of the world. The affluence of all would only continue thanks to this agent, even though there would never be any affection for his memory or any desire to be affiliated with his tainted name.

      As he hung from the bars of the ceiling of the conference hall, the agent was glad he was an aerobics teacher in his spare time. Without all of his physical training this task would have been pure agony. He smiled when he imagined the world's reaction to his killing Hamilton Smith. There was a certain aesthetic that only a few would appreciate.

      As he looked down he could see that people were agglomerating around Hamilton Smith already as he was entering the room. This aggregation of people was a problem but there was nothing the agent couldn't deal with. It would make the event even more impressive. When he finally saw Hamilton's head he pulled his gun up to aim. It was show time!

                              富裕社会付出的代价

    “一个富裕的社会是承受不起自我毁灭的倡导者的，能自我毁灭的社会一般都病情恶化，需要整治。”

    特工一边这样想，一边做着力口害汉密尔顿·史密斯的准备。史密斯是大名鼎鼎的政府顾问委员会的领导，他一心想通过肯定一种新秩序来影响历史进程，他要把一个好端端的社会摧毁掉，按照他的治国思想从头再来。

    对于真正统治整个国家的绝密情报处来说这个议程是无法接受的。正是这个情报处找了个合适的特工来为国捐躯、当着世人的面刺杀汉密尔顿·史密斯。多亏了这名特工，大家的富裕生活将一如既往，尽管到时人们想起他时谁也不会有任何感情，谁也不愿意将自己与他的恶名联系在一起。

    悬吊在会议大厅天花板的横梁上，特工庆幸自己在业余时间做过有氧健身教师。如果没有那些体能训练，执行这项任务就会变得十分痛苦。想到世界对自己刺杀汉密尔顿·史密斯将会做出的反应，他不由笑了起来。这件事有种只有少数人会欣赏的美感。

    特工朝下一看，发现汉密尔顿·史密斯走进房间的时候，人们早巳将他围成一团。那么多人聚在那里是够麻烦的，但是没有这位特工搞不定的事情。这将使整个事件更加引人注目。等到他终于看到汉密尔顿的脑袋，他拔出枪来进行瞄准。是表演的时候啦!

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