Expediter

In Short

This political science fiction story follows Josip Pekic, a young Transbalkanian man unexpectedly recruited by the state’s top leaders to serve as an "expediter." Armed with absolute, unchecked authority, Pekic is tasked with solving the maddening inefficiencies of a command economy. However, as he travels the country correcting mistakes—from disastrous agricultural blunders to petty bureaucratic hurdles—he inadvertently exposes the fundamental incompetence of the political class itself. It is a cynical, sharp-edged satire on the nature of authoritarianism and the inevitable fragility of regimes that prioritize ideology over technical reality.

The Story

Josip Pekic, the son of a posthumously pardoned "Hero of the People," lives in the shadow of the secret police, forever awaiting the dreaded midnight knock. When it finally comes, he is taken not to a prison, but to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. There, he meets the supreme leader, Zoran Jankez, and his right-hand man, Aleksander Kardelj. They identify Josip as the "average" citizen—a statistical composite of the nation—and grant him supreme, law-exempt credentials to act as an expediter. His mandate is to identify and resolve the bottlenecks, shortages, and idiocies that plague the United Balkan Soviet Republics.

Josip begins his work with trepidation, quickly realizing that the nation’s problems are systemic. In one instance, he discovers a bizarre agricultural project—the mass culling of birds to save grain—has triggered an insect plague that destroyed more crops than the birds ever ate. He overrides the orders of high-ranking party officials to halt such madness. As he moves from the steel industry to the "virgin lands" in Macedonia, he realizes that the nation's failure isn't due to bad luck or sabotage, but to the fact that career politicians like Jankez and his cronies have no understanding of the technical, scientific, or agricultural realities they attempt to manage.

As Josip gains influence, he quietly begins spreading a dangerous, revolutionary idea among the nation’s engineers and technicians: that politicians should not run industry. Meanwhile, the regime begins to fracture. Kardelj, realizing the system is beyond salvation, begins to distance himself, while a paranoid Jankez grows increasingly unstable, lashing out at his own subordinates. The experiment backfires spectacularly; instead of "fixing" the state, Josip has provided a voice for the growing resentment of the technocratic class.

The tension culminates when Josip calls the Ministry from Switzerland, having defected. He delivers a final, polite report to a raging Jankez, explaining that he has spent his tenure successfully undermining the party’s grip on industry. Left alone in his office as the regime begins to crumble, Jankez hears the inevitable knock at his own door. The cycle of the police state has finally circled back to consume its creator, leaving the reader with a bleak, ironic resolution.

How It Unfolds

The summons Josip is dragged from his home in the middle of the night, expecting death, only to be met by the surprising grins of the nation’s two most powerful men. They present him with an bizarre job offer: to be the "average man" with the power to override any law to fix the country’s failures.

The mandate Armed with "can do no wrong" credentials, Josip begins investigating why the economy is stalled despite lofty government statistics. He finds a landscape where ideology has replaced logic, leading to shortages of basic goods and absurd industrial practices.

The awakening As Josip travels, he encounters experts and technicians who are stifled by incompetent political overseers. He begins to realize that the state’s problems aren't just "bottlenecks," but a fundamental disconnect between the ruling party and the reality of modern industrial management.

The fracture The government begins to turn on itself as the expediter’s interventions lead to high-level purges. Aleksander Kardelj recognizes the shift in the tides, while Zoran Jankez descends into a rage-filled paranoia, unable to comprehend why his own "brain-wave experiment" is destroying his authority.

The exit Josip makes a final call to the Ministry, revealing that he has not been fixing the state, but rather systematically organizing its collapse. The story ends with the architect of the dictatorship facing his own midnight knock, signaling the inevitable end of his reign.

The People

Josip Pekic is the "average" man whose lack of ambition makes him the perfect, unbiased tool for the state. Initially fearful and confused, he undergoes a quiet transformation, moving from a passive victim of the state to a clever, principled operative who uses his authority to dismantle the very system that empowered him.

Zoran Jankez is the "Number One" of the United Balkan Soviet Republics. A man of massive, decaying ego and limited intelligence, he relies on brute force and fear to maintain power. He believes he is the savior of his people, yet he is utterly baffled by the complexities of the modern world. He ends as a man isolated by his own paranoia.

Aleksander Kardelj serves as the brains behind the throne. He is cynical, sophisticated, and prone to mocking humor, yet he is ultimately a pragmatist who recognizes that the regime is obsolete. While he views himself as the puppet master, he is outmaneuvered by the very "average" man he chose to elevate.

In Its Own Voice

"You're our average Transbalkanian; you feel as the average man in the street feels."

Kardelj explains to Josip why he has been selected to wield absolute power over the state.

"The worst of it is, so my young engineer friends tell me, that while the steel thus produced might have been a marvel back in the days of the Hittites, it hardly reaches specifications today."

Josip critiques the absurd "backyard" steel production policy that has diverted resources away from actual industrial progress.

What It's Really About

This book is a sharp examination of the "technocratic dilemma"—the conflict between political control and expert competence. The core argument is that authoritarian regimes, by their nature, eventually become decoupled from the reality of the systems they manage. By placing a "common man" in a position of supreme power, the narrative exposes how the state’s reliance on ideology over technical expertise creates a slow-motion catastrophe. It explores whether a system built on fear and top-down command can ever survive the transition into a modern, complex technological society, ultimately suggesting that when the "average" man is given the truth, the facade of a dictatorship is easily dismantled.

Why Read It Today

Readers who enjoy political satire—particularly those who appreciate the cynical, witty tradition of mid-century speculative fiction—will find much to admire here. The narrative moves with a brisk, lean efficiency, refusing to get bogged down in over-explanation. It feels like a precursor to later works on the fragility of totalitarian systems, capturing the specific, suffocating atmosphere of a state where everyone is constantly "waiting for the knock."

The book does not shy away from the darker aspects of the era it depicts; it is unapologetically bleak regarding the nature of power and the inevitability of purges. While the setting is a fictionalized Balkan state, the underlying observations about "passing the buck" and the incompetence of career politicians remain remarkably relevant. Readers should be aware that the prose reflects the mid-century tendency toward didactic dialogue, and the dated terminology—such as references to Telly-Phones—serves as a reminder of its 1963 origins. However, for those interested in a sharp, unsentimental look at how regimes die from within, this is a rewarding and intellectually stimulating read. It stays with you not for its action, but for its quiet, chilling finality.