Citizen Kane (title?) based scifi

[Quadko]

I have a recollection of a scifi book I thought was based on the Orison Wells Citizen Kane story - at least I thought the title was a misspelling like "Citizen Caine", but I've had no luck tracking it down. The story I recall is about the titular character in a future society. He makes a lot of money in the "energy stock market" where he buys energy futures when everyone thinks it will be a season of no-energy and he will have to "pay" for the lack, but instead it is an abundant season and he comes out waaaay ahead. What I remember of the plot is his interactions, his rise to importance (and maybe fall) in the future society, and somewhat of an observation on "thinking big". When I later saw the movie "Citizen Kane" and Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" they both resonated with this much worse and less high-brow, but memorably fun, novel. It also was the right mid-teenage time for this common joke to stick with me: Our hero is driving (hovercar?) down the highway, stops somewhere to do business or contact a friend. Ending the conversation, he asks his friend/contact "where is the fastest place to get gas around here?" The other one answers the equivalent of "Two blocks over, Mama Hernandez's Mexican restaraunt - order the bean burrito". "No, I mean FUEL for my vehicle." "Oh, then there is a station on the corner. Be more specific next time." I don't recall the plot, but the book was filled with "future cars" and "future energy" and a "future American society" and maybe even "future decline of America", but all seemingly based on a mix of 50's love of machines, wide open highways, and open space (Texas? Deserts? Plains?), and more 80s future. I don't remember much "space", just speculative pulp adventure in the nearer future. I definitely would have read it in the late 80s or early 90s, but it would have come from a used bookstore, so ???

 

[JustPassingThrough]

I do not know about that- but I had heard eons ago that Mr. Welles took great inspiration from comic books (the golden age as now we call them) in his set up, lighting, shadows, and all that good stuff.

Good luck on your search for the book!