Chapter Three: Propaganda Piece
Kallen Kozuki awoke.
Her red hair was falling in front of her face, and she tried to pick herself up. Standing up with a lawn, she reflected that at least the beds at home were better than in the Resistance hideout. She'd still have preferred to hang out with her brother and help with operations. But operations had been quiet lately since the bombing by the Fierce Yamato.
The idiots had gone after a civilian target. That was only going to cause problems for the Japanese. There wasn't any guarantee the businessmen even deserved it. Why couldn't they hijack food shipments for the military bases? Could they kill soldiers and feed their starving people?
And Tamaki had been reading, oddly enough.
He'd gotten handed the book while trying to rough up a bunch of spoiled Britannian kids. Kallen hadn't heard exactly how. But they were probably running the soup kitchen or whatever they called it as a publicity stunt. Or so they could brag about how compassionate and brave they were to others.
"Another day," muttered Kallen, getting to the mirror and brushing her hair. She wanted to style it into her usual spike style, but that wasn't an option. So instead, she combed it into a meek style. "I have to go to school."
There she was in the mirror. The very image of a meek and sickly Britannian girl everyone pretended to be friends with. Kallen was Kallen Stadtfield again.
There was a knock at the door.
"What is it?" asked Kallen.
The door opened, and the maid that used to be family entered her room, brown hair tied behind her head. Kallen's 'Mother' had assigned her this duty, probably to rub things in. "Good morning, milady; I've brought you some coffee."
Why was she still here? She was shaming herself as well as Kallen, and all for a guy who abandoned her in the first place. "Just put it on the desk and leave me alone."
"Yes, I understand," said the maid, setting it down.
Kallen was going to have to go back to school.
And she did.
She arrived via bus, using limos made her feel like a Britannian parasite. Kallen wondered what Ashford academy would look like on fire. A bombing in this place might do the students here some good, knock them out of their vapid little fantasy world. Of course, it'd have to be set off where it wouldn't hurt anyone, obviously.
They were, sort of, innocent. Mostly.
"Kallen, Kallen, you're back at school. I'm so glad," said one of Kallen's 'friends,' meaning people who hung out with her. They mostly talked with each other while feeling oh so smug about including the ill girl.
"Yeah, Kallen, are you alright?" asked one.
"I'm fine," said Kallen, putting on the image of being meek and unassuming. "The doctors say I should be able to stay here for a little while, at least."
She made private excuses and went to class. If you looked meek and unassuming enough, people left you alone. But Kallen remembered now why she hated this place. Everyone was looking down on everyone else. And she had to pretend to be an invalid victim, or someone might pay attention to her.
As opposed to paying attention to Kallen Stadtfeld, a wholly imaginary person. One that people invented in their minds while standing near her. None of them who she really was at all, but they acted like they were friends. This was why she had to put up an act.
The class came and went, and Kallen noticed Lelouch was there as always. He did not greet her as she came in or feign sympathy at all.
He was probably looking down on and condemning everyone he met.
"Alright, class. Today you're all going to have homework," said the history teacher after class, the last class of the day. "You will each be paired up with another student, and together you will form a research team. I want all of you to do an essay on the Britannian liberation of Old Japan. You'll talk about how Area 11 has advanced during our time here."
"Oh right, sure," was what Kallen Kozuki would say. "If by advanced, you mean into the ground. Japan's GDP used to be way higher before they wrecked all the industry. Clovis is only just getting it back up, though it might have been faster if not for all his parties.
"I hate Britannians."
But Kallen Stadtfeld said none of this. Just stared with a vacant stare.
"Kallen, I know you're a bit behind, so I want you to be paired with Lelouch," said the teacher. "He should be able to help you out?"
"Sir, is this necessary?" asked Lelouch in that faux laid-back way he always spoke. What a jerk. He had no way of knowing that she wasn't genuinely ill, but every time he ignored her.
People only showed you who they were when you made them do something they didn't want to do.
"Oh, come on, Lelouch. Be a gentleman," said the man.
"Whatever you say, sir," said Lelouch.
The class cleared out, but Kallen stayed in place. Lelouch took a fairly long time packing his things up and eventually turned around in his seat. "So, I guess we'll be working with eachother then, Kallen?"
"Yeah, it looks like it," said Kallen, voice normal. "So, what do you have in mind?"
"Follow me to the library, and I'll show you," said Lelouch.
And he led her to the library. Kallen followed because, really, what else was she going to do here? Eventually, she saw him looking up websites. Weren't they supposed to, y'know, study? Lelouch was here every day, and he usually got top marks for studying.
"What are you doing?" asked Kallen.
"I'm looking up the official story of the Britannian settlement's construction. It should be on the government website," said Lelouch. "Clovis likes writing up his own history. There are several personal accounts here.
"We'll print it out and rephrase it on the report. Then we'll print out some pictures of Tokyo Tower and the Viceroy's palace. From there, we'll do a biography piece on Clovis, and we're done."
Kallen stared. "So you're not even going to do your own research?"
"What's the point?" asked Lelouch with a shrug. "The teacher isn't interested in our opinion. We're dutiful Britannian citizens. So we'll make a report that talks about how great Britannia is. This test is graded on presentation, not content. The content is predetermined, even if they'd never admit it."
That... seemed logical, and Kallen felt she ought to be the one saying it. "But shouldn't we put the work in?"
"I've got to tend my garden, clean up my house, manage my finances, and practical martial arts with Sayoko. And then help manage the student council," said Lelouch. "And that's not even going into the possibility of unforeseen events."
"Why would I waste my limited time on doing research for a paper that I'll never be able to use? Even if I did put the extra work in and take pictures of the ruins, it would only get me an F for being unpatriotic."
Was he bluffing? Kallen trained in martial arts and did revolutionary work on the side. But add finances, cleaning, and gardening? He had to be bluffing.
"So what, you're just going to phone it in and not even try to make a difference?" asked Kallen, feeling a sense of resentment of his laziness.
"I got held up at gunpoint working at the only soup kitchen in the settlement. One that I built yesterday," said Lelouch, voice annoyed. "And I did that while being at school, on time, every day for my entire time here.
"What have you gotten done while you were playing hooky?"
"Playing hooky?!" said Kallen, her real voice leaking out. "I mean, I don't know what you mean..." If he knew, she might have to silence him.
"Please, you've got the body of a trained martial artist. And there is no record of any illness in the school records," said Lelouch. "You also went into a stance now on reflex. Anyone who pays attention to who you are and what you are doing would know you were playing hooky.
"You're lazy and refuse to live up to your full potential. Just like everyone else. The fact that you get good grades anyway makes it worse, not better."
"I study while I'm at home!" said Kallen, and this was more or less true. Her mansion was not her home. "And anyway, what if I am playing hooky? What business is that of yours! You're only doing the bare minimum for this assignment, even though I want to go all the way! Who are you to talk?!
"You worked near the ghettos and served the homeless! You must have seen what the people were like! Are you telling me that's not worth documenting? Just because nobody is going to listen?"
"Would you listen if you didn't have a stake in winning the argument?" asked Lelouch.
"I might!" said Kallen.
Lelouch sighed. "...Fine.
"You win. We'll take pictures of the Tokyo ruins. But we are not going past the settlement.
"Happy?"
Had Kallen won? Well, if she had to silence him, it would be easier. But he thought she was some spoiled noble playing hooky. "Fine by me. When and where?"
"Right now will do," said Lelouch. "We've both got cellphones that can take high definition pictures. I don't want to waste any more time on this than I have to." He raised a phone and dialed it. "Excuse me, Sayoko, could you tell Nunnally I'm going to be a bit late tonight. Thanks." He hung up and looked at her. "Now come on, there should be mass transit we can take to Shinjuku."
And together, they walked out of Ashford Academy to the bus stop. Kallen knew that Lelouch was one of the most popular guys in school. She'd taken him to be totally superficial, but now looking at him...
There was something beneath it other than snide arrogance.
"You seem... bitter," said Kallen.
"Hmm, oh yes. To say I'm bitter would be an understatement," said Lelouch. Then he checked inside his breast pocket for something.
"Well, what have you got to be so unhappy about?" asked Kallen, annoyed. "You live in a mansion with a maid and are one of the most popular people in school."
"Doesn't that apply to you too?" asked Lelouch.
"Oh," said Kallen. He was sort of right. About Kallen Stadtfield anyway, not Kallen Kozuki, obviously. Kallen Kozuki changed everything. "Good point."
The bus arrived, and they watched as it went along the road. Looking out to their left, Kallen could see the ruined skyscrapers stretching outward. To the right were the glistening skyscrapers of the Tokyo Settlement. It was an image of Britannian dominance. The cost of keeping the windows clean alone could probably raise a small army.
Lelouch raised his phone, opened the window, and got several shots of the settlement. Kallen followed his cue and took shots of the ruins. She'd seemed them every day for so long; they were almost a fact of life.
Eventually, they got off.
As they scaled down, Kallen reflected that Lelouch's soup kitchen had not been a bad thing. If Tamaki had put him at gunpoint and he'd talked him down, it meant he must be serious. Maybe she'd been a bit hard on him?
In the end, they went to the outskirts. Kallen saw the soup kitchen Tamaki had described. Metal sheets were over the windows, and it looked forlorn and hopeless—a lone well-constructed building with a highway nearby. And in front of this building were vast stretches of wreckage.
"Why'd you want to stop by here?" asked Kallen, taking several shots. This was a far better use than the selfies people kept doing in front of monuments.
Damn tourists.
"Well, I know this place better than the other areas," said Lelouch, walking to get a shot. It was one that held the kitchen in the foreground while the ruins stood tall behind. "Also, if we focus on how the Britannian people are helping the Elevens, we could get a better grade."
"You seemed like the kind to hate lying," said Kallen. Kallen did, and they seemed more alike than they thought.
"There's a difference between lying and putting a positive spin on the truth," said Lelouch. "Focusing on a different part of reality can help you change reality for the better. Or, it can motivate you to keep on going when things are very bleak."
"No it doesn't," said Kallen, focusing on a broken-down building with a makeshift stall set up. "The only thing that matters is what you do. What people say about it doesn't make any difference?"
"Oh really?" asked Lelouch. "What if I showed you a picture of a man being shot by a police officer while surrendering? Would you call it an atrocity?"
"Of course," said Kallen before she could stop herself. That wasn't the kind of response Kallen Stadtfeld should make.
"Okay," said Lelouch. "Now, what if I showed you the same picture. But with the information below explaining that the man being shot was a serial rapist. One who had just bombed a crowded city street and killed dozens of people.
"Assume for the sake of argument that the information is true."
"Well... I..." Kallen shifted.
"You see," said Lelouch. "The added information makes all the difference. A resistance group might use the picture and say, 'this man is being killed without trial.' Britannia would say, 'this man is being brought to justice for the murder of innocents.' Both assessments are more or less true.
"But they change how the person looking at the picture sees it. What you see affects how you think. How you think affects what you do.
"And what you do becomes a reality.
"If we present the ruins of Japan as is and focus on Britannian charity, we spread the word about the problems. But we do it in an inoffensive light. One that plays into the Master Race narrative."
"So why not also mention what it was that put this place in this condition?" asked Kallen.
"Because then everyone will dismiss what we have to say as being provocative," said Lelouch. "On the other hand, if we present Britannia in a messianic light, we open a door. Once the door is open, we can put in inconvenient truths that remind people how things got this way.
"Most of the people in Ashford Academy aren't evil. They are just asleep. They've been programmed by our society to believe a lie. And if you strike at the lie too hard, you strike at the core of their identity. They'll naturally get hostile and ignore anything you have to say."
Kallen had to admit she was impressed. "You've really thought this through, haven't you?"
"I have," said Lelouch. "Let's focus on our work. You handle the ruins, I'll take care of the soup kitchen."
And they did so.
Kallen kept a wary eye on the streets and noticed that so did Lelouch. He obviously knew how dangerous this area was anyway. Kallen kept her pocketknife on hand, just in case. But eventually, it started to get started, and they had to take what they had.
While on the bus on the way back, both of them looked at their photos.
"Well, these are some pretty good pictures. I like the angle on this one," said Lelouch. "We'll develop these, bring up some of the official footage and tell the story of the invasion as is. But we'll add some darker tinges on the side."
"How are you going to justify that?" asked Kallen.
"Easy, point out how Japan was using it's near-monopoly on Sakuradite. They used it for economic domination and to force unfavorable trade agreements," said Lelouch. "Genbu Kururugi once deliberately pulled supplies from Russia during negotiations. Doing so led to tens of thousands freezing to death in the dead of winter. All so Japan could get a better deal.
"That's why the EU looked the other way when Britannia attacked. The first thing Schneizel did was provide a far more generous offer."
Kallen remembered reading about that in the papers. But it had been portrayed as Genbu getting a good deal for Japan. Later reports of the deaths had only come after the invasion. Kallen had dismissed them as propaganda.
But if people had been freezing to death because of Japan...
No way. That didn't make Britannia the heroes. Even a broken clock was right twice a day. And Britannia couldn't have held control of its Empire without doing some good things. They were just a means to an end of... whatever Britannia wanted with world domination.
"We then add one or two instances of Japanese war crimes," said Lelouch. "We cite the continued dishonorable tactics of the JLF. Britannia becomes the hero. While all the horrible things that happened to Area 11 were isolated incidents. And they are, of course, performed by dishonorable men who shame their nation. It's not like Prince Clovis would ever approve of these things, after all.
"Add in a few lines advocating for more opportunities for the 'good' elevens, and we have an A+."
Kallen stared. Lelouch was good at this. "Ever consider becoming a journalist?"
"Why, have you seen some in the news lately?" asked Lelouch.
Kallen laughed.
They got an A+ for their assignment the next day, just like Lelouch said they would. And they undermined Britannia in the process. Plus, they were even congratulated for going the extra mile.
School life was looking up.