Nineveh + the people

“Even abortions don’t make you forget the loss of life sucked from us. You know very well what happens to the children who are born here and to their parents. Putting a hole in the soul of another mother. They will die of terrible diseases, they will be killed or die of starvation or water deprivation and no one will mourn for them. Their lives will be like manure on the ground as their neglected bodies decompose as fertilizer in a capsule. Their blood will stain these urine stench streets, never to be washed away until it rains again” she exclaims before finishing her drink and motions to the bear-sized bartender for another.

"When in the course of human development, existing institutions prove inadequate to the needs of man, when they serve merely to enslave, rob and oppress humanity; the people have the eternal right to rebel against and overthrow these institutions. To be governed is to be at every operation, at every transaction, noted, registered, enrolled, taxed, stamped, measured, numbered, assessed, licensed,  authorized, admonished, forbidden, reformed, corrected, and punished! This long night of evil, injustice, and social savagery which surrounds Nineveh and suppresses our people must be brought to bear. 

Bethlehem enters the room with a new bounce in his step, restraining a smile. The kind of smile that makes other people wonder what you’ve been up to or perhaps one a mischievous child may have after they finally get what they wanted. This is an outturn due to the fact that he was summoned by Evolon after her near brush with death in the too close for comfort encounter with Canaan the night before that brought his unrequited love to an end. In her vulnerable emotional state, she experienced the most unlikeliest of aphrodisiacs, surviving death. 

“When I was a child, a dreamed of monsters. Usually, it was my mother that rushed to my room when she heard my screams to console and comfort me. But one night, my father came. He didn’t console or comfort me. He asked me what scared me and what kind of monster it was. He said that the fear of zombies means the fear of the masses. He said fear of vampires means the fear of the elite. I told him I didn’t know what kind of monster it was because I always wake up when it grabs me. He then told me that monsters do exist, but they are too big to fit under my bed and far too few in number to be truly dangerous. More dangerous are the functionaries ready to believe and to act without asking questions. You, sir, are one of those real-life monsters.”

“You know, we are all merchants of death, but unlike many other great predators in history, from Genghis Khan to the Spanish conquistadors, King Leopold never saw a drop of blood spilled in anger. He never even set foot in the Congo. Yet, he murdered more people than Hitler. But history paints Hitler as the colossal behemoth. There is something very modern about that. Like the bomber pilot in the stratosphere, above the clouds, or a drone pilot in a far-off remote location playing a perceived war game while eating a snack, who never hears the screams or sees the shattered homes or the torn flesh. He never smells the bodies or undresses in clothes bloodied and soiled by the carnage. Look into the eyes of motherless children. I am afraid you and I do not have that luxury. 

“Look, I am your bridge over troubled water, so let's not get into semantics; just try to focus on what we both agree on for now, and that is change. My enemy’s enemy and all that.  Power is like a tiger. If you ride a tiger, you must be very careful when you get down; otherwise, you find yourself inside the tiger’s belly. But when things reach their peak, they decline. These are lessons before time and after time. What I would like to know are you interested in negotiating?”