The trope of ‘Older, non-maestro schemer ends the career/life of young, naive maestro’ always bugged me*. It happens, sure. But the trope’s not always compatible with the idea of a competent schemer, is it? An intelligent person – like the protagonist of ‘Reasonable Ambitions’ – could just as easily realize that you don’t kill the goose that lays the golden eggs, particularly when the goose is going to be ridiculously and profitably grateful for the way you take care of those annoying day-to-day distractions. The people normally interacting with the goose would probably be more grateful, too. Genius can be a bit much to deal with, on a regular basis**.
Moe Lane
*AMADEUS is an excellent movie that nonetheless has a lot to answer for.
**Twenty years ago, I would have made an arrogant joke about that; these days, I refrain. Mind you, I haven’t become humbler. I just have less of a need to remind people about how awesome I am.