Chapter 110
.
Lenin brought Zelena and the rest of the group to Robin's camp. She recognized some of them as having been part of his merry men before, Will Scarlett, his beloved Anastasia, Little John. Friar Tuck was noticeably absent, he'd likely already been raptured. There were also some new additions, noticeably the abolitionist John Brown. Zelena went to see Robin, he seemed only a little suprised to see her in Hell. His first question was an obvious one.
.
Robin: How is our daughter?
Zelena: She's good, I named her Robin, after you, obviously. She tried to make you proud, she made a few mistakes but she's a good person.
Robin: I'm glad. Has she loved anyone?
Zelena: Happily married.
Robin: I wish I could have been there for the wedding, give the groom some encouragement, only a few slight threats.
Zelena: Actually she's married to Alice.
Robin: As in Alice in Wonderland? I thought Alice was married to a male genie.
Zelena: Different version of Alice.
Robin: Hard to keep track sometimes.
Zelena: At any rate they'll love to meet you.
Robin: I don't know. I have responsibilities here.
Zelena: We can take all of your merry men home.
Robin: And the people who depend on us.
Zelena: Lenin seems eager for a leadership role.
Robin: That's what worries me.
Zelena: Is Marian here?
Robin: I honestly don't know, haven't seen her yet. I think that's part of the torture, Evil prefers keeping loved ones apart.
Zelena: Then why not stick it to Evil by bonding with your daughter. Help inspire others back home to do good?
.
While Zelena tried to convince Robin to come with her, Jack Bauer used this opportunity to talk with Lenin and John Brown.
.
Jack: I take it you two are friends here?
John: I was upset when he agreed to serve Evil, but he did renounce Evil, eventually.
Lenin: In my life, I was a dedicated athiest, blamed religion for keeping the proletariet down. I thought the term "progressive christian" was a contradiction. But, having had lengthy conversations with this religious fanatic, I admit I was wrong.
John: Indeed, I truley felt that God wanted me to end slavery. I saw the writing on the walls, I knew civil war was coming. I had hoped, perhaps vainly, that my mission could end slavery with little bloodshed. But we failed. I wasn't afraid to die, I only regretted that it would take such a terrible war to do accomplish our holy mission.
Jack: And you got to become a martyr, during this war Union soldiers sang songs about you.
John: I could have done without that, as oppossed to Lenin here, who had more statues than anyone in history.
Lenin: Most of that was done after my death.
John: You still supported the cult of personality.
Lenin: You're right, I should have done differently.
Jack: I'd always heard you were a humble man. I guess, considering your support of the cult of personality, by those standards you are pretty humble. You guys miss your old lives?
Lenin: Yes. I used to love hunting, and my pet cats. I always regretted that I never had children.
John: I wish I had been a better father. My sons died at Harper's Ferry. One of them, as he was dying, asked for me. I told him to be brave, to die like a man. I should have comforted him. As we were preapring, most of my men were hiding in the barn. They played cards, debated religion. I wish I had taken the time to enjoy those last days.
Jack: I definitely made mistakes as a father. When Kim went to prison I did all I could to save her life, get her parole. But eventually, I had to choose between my daughter's life and saving others. I killed my own daughter.
John: I don't regret that my sons died in a noble cause, only that I wasn't more comforting.
Jack: You know, when I was at CTU, we monitored groups that used, both of your images, to justify their own terrorism.
John: I know that, by the standards of your day, I might be considered a terrorist. But the injustice of slavery made such, "terrorism" neccessary.
Jack: I knew some anti-abortion fanatics who used the same argument.
John: I cannot judge them, not if they are fighting against the dehumanization of an entire sub-set of your population.
Jack: And other terrorists?
John: Depends on their cause. Something like the israeli-palestinian conflict for example, is a great tragedy. Both sides have faced dehumanization by the outside world, neither can see the other side's suffering. Lenin here has some good ideas for how to deal with it.
Jack: I'm sure he does.
Lenin: But ofcourse we disagree on what role religion should play in the peace process.
Jack: No doubt. But here's something for both of you to consider, the israeli-palestinian conflict doesn't exist anymore. It has been resolved in the new world, and those of other worlds, those worlds don't exist anymore. For all the people who truley believed in one side over the other, who cared only about one side, those who committed terrorism to support that side are mostly stuck here in Hell. Consider that as you contemplate what tactics to use in your current world.
.
As this discussion continued Robin and Zelena came out, Robin addressed his people.
.
Robin: My friends, I am leaving for Antarctica. I wish to get to know my daughter while I can. Any one of you is welcome to come with me. Some feel we have a greater duty to the poor and oppressed of this world. Therefore, every man and woman in this camp must make this decision for themself. To stay here and continue to fight, or to come to Antarctica.