BUCKINGHAM PALACE, LONDON
T om Truckle was listening to the Queen’s plan.
“All of you, my dear guests, lunatics, and ex-Wonderlanders, come from so many countries around the world,” she began. “All of you are friends with presidents and the most prestigious men and women in your land. And all of you don’t like any of them, too, because all of you were once in the circus.”
Tom kept listening.
“Having managed to escape Wonderland and faking a new life in this awful world doesn’t mean you don’t want to have your revenge,” she said. “Trust me, if you don’t let the madness out, you’ll end up like the Muffin Man, confused, not knowing who you are, and then you’ll die miserably.”
Tom was beginning to see where this was going.
“My plan is simple,” she said. “To get you to replace your human superiors, to replace your presidents, and to rule instead.”
A long silence fell on the room.
“Think about it.” She eyed everyone. “What good has any human done to the world? All this poverty, war, and—ahem—madness they’ve caused. Humans think they can rule, but they’re just jub jubs, doing a lousy job. It’s time for us to rule this world.” She raised her hands in the air, the tension rising in the meeting hall. “It’s time for us to spread the madness!”
Tom shared the claps and enthusiasm of the crowd. He felt silly, but he also felt he needed it.
“And we’re not going to try to do a better job of what the failed humans did,” she elaborated. “We’ll make it worse. We’ll make the poor become poorer.”
“Yeah!”
“The rich become filthy freakin’ richer!”
“Yeah.”
“We’re going to turn humans into second-class citizens, if not animals.”
“Yeah!”
“We, Wonderlanders, are going to rule the world!”
“Yeah!” hailed Tom. How he wished he was really part of this revolution of madness.
“And to start the Wonderland Wars,” she said, “we’re going to spread our insanity bit by bit until no insane person is locked away anymore.”
Tom clapped like everyone else. He realized that he might be as mad as everyone else. Maybe he wasn’t destined to direct an asylum. Maybe he was destined to be one of the great Wonderlanders.
He pulled out his bottle and spilled the pills on the floor. He didn’t need them anymore. He didn’t need to suppress his madness and hide from everyone. Instead, he needed to celebrate it like the Queen of Hearts did.
With anticipation, he awaited what was going to happen to the world in the coming days.