Chapter 200
.
Lenin had a meeting with some of his lieutenants regarding the aftermat of the battle. John Brown, Dessalines, Spartacus, and a fairly new recruit named Frances Stone. In life, Frances had been born into a fairly wealthy family, the daughter of a liquor manufacturer. Frances fell in with one of the more radical sufferegette groups in the 1910s. Her father opposed women's right to vote because he knew that they supported prohibition, which could mean an end to his wealth. They supported prohibition because they hoped that it would lead to much fewer instances of men beating their wives. Her father paid cops to violently break up these groups. Frances' group resorted to terrorism, even bombing her own father's brewery. When Frances was arrested her father did nothing to help, choosing temporary wealth over his own daughter, she was executed in 1919, just before the passage of the 19th amendment. Now, she was allied with Lenin's army, in a war that they stood little chance of winning.
.
Lenin: D'Hoffryn has retrieved some of our forces, but he says he can't locate others.
Brown: So either there are limits to his powers, or he's decieving us.
Frances: I've spoken with my father.
Lenin: The same father who allowed you to be executed?
Frances: He wants me out of this war, but he still chooses his own wealth over my well being. At any rate, he claims that Ares had little trouble bringing all of Galt's forces out of the torture chamber.
Lenin: This is troubling. For one thing, Ares has offered me an alliance. Are you certain it was the same Ares, we know there are multiple versions of most of these gods.
Brown: It doesn't matter. He was the god of war, he doesn't care which side wins, he just likes seing people fight. In that sense he is no different from D'Hoffryn.
Frances: I think you're right. They're just petty tyrants who enjoy keeping people here, in Hell. I didn't mind using guerilla tactics to achieve our goals, but they don't seem to be working.
Brown: Agreed. Let's say D'Hoffryn was telling the truth about not being able to locate some of our people. Maybe they made it into Heaven. It makes sense, we fight for others, they fight only for their own greed. It stands to reason that more of our people get to Heaven, and our army dwindles over time.
Lenin: We lose soldiers, Galt's side doesn't. Not to mention, maybe our soldiers get frustrated, start thinking about deserting, giving in to greed.
Frances: And Evil gets more soldiers for the final battle, greater chance of winning.
Brown: Clearly we need new tactics.
Lenin: Agreed. I used to criticize the moderates, always felt that a revolution couldn't succeed with white gloves.
Brown: I felt the same way about the quakers. They were brave conductors on the Underground Railroad, and it seems they made it into Heaven before us.
Lenin: So what, we should adopt the non-violent methods of Ghandi and Dr King?
Brown: I vote we try and evacuate as many people to Earth, to Antarctica, as possible. And yes, if possible, through non-violence. We help inspire others to do the same. Both for their sakes, and our own.