The Rebellion of Broken Metaphors

In a world where language shaped reality, Liam Wordsworth was a reluctant revolutionary. At 28, he was already a professor of Linguistic Engineering at the prestigious Lexicon University, known for his groundbreaking work in metaphor construction. But beneath his academic success lurked a growing disillusionment with the rigid structures that governed both language and society.

The streets of Verbopolis hummed with the energy of carefully crafted phrases. Billboards shimmered with slogans that literally changed the cityscape. “Life is a journey,” one read, and the road beneath it transformed into a winding path through lush forests and steep mountains. “Time is money,” declared another, causing pedestrians to sprout pockets that clinked with the seconds ticking away.

Liam walked through this linguistic wonderland, his brow furrowed in thought. He nodded to a colleague who passed by, carried aloft by the buoyancy of her own self-confidence — a side effect of repeatedly telling herself she was “on cloud nine.”

As he entered his office at the university, Liam’s teaching assistant, Zoe, greeted him with a worried expression. “Professor, have you seen the news? The Council of Etymologists has issued another edict.”

Liam sighed, slumping into his chair. “What is it this time? More restrictions on adverbs? A ban on mixed metaphors?”

Zoe handed him a tablet, its screen displaying an official announcement bordered with animated, intertwining letters. “They’re…