{"product_id":"2940045828567","title":"Mergs (Or Why Godot Can't Come) (short story)","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis is one of ten stories that appears in Mindscapes: Ten Science Fiction and Speculative Fiction Short Stories (C) 2014 by Victor D. López.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn a world that worships power and raises human beings onto pedestals erected from the insubstantial building blocks of ego, hubris, and self-delusion, it is no wonder that we look for meaning and enlightenment in all the wrong places. We turn a dismissive eye to human suffering and most other things that might blur the image of our own aggrandized reflection in the world around us. We walk by a homeless person while looking away at more inviting vistas, or perhaps assuage our guilt by putting a dollar in their empty cup with the knowledge that there for the Grace. . . .\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut what if each one of us--even the most wretched soul amongst us living in despair without hope of redemption--were a god in a singular universe whom sentient beings worship and totally depend upon for their own salvation?\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Victor D. Lopez","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47110371868912,"sku":"2940045828567","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940045828567_p0.jpg?v=1769890810","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940045828567","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}