Chapter 36. Corruption and Preservation

General Monroe sat down and glared at his cold breakfast. He had been enjoying it, before he had been interrupted by the necessity of punishing the ever-obstreperous Zookeeper. He poked at a cold egg with a fork, and sighed. He didn't feel much like eating, anyways. Not that it mattered much, either way, any more.

His children were not so fussy. Well, the fact that they were still young, and still growing, probably gave them a good appetite. Evan wolfed down his eggs, and Gina poured herself another glass of orange juice from a pitcher on the table. Monroe waited until they were done, then leaned back.

"So... do either of you have any questions about what happened just before?"

Gina said nothing, but there was a quizzical, hurt look in her eyes. Evan seemed more thoughtful, and finally said. "I thought we weren't supposed to question you."

True enough. He had taught them not to do so, through the seat of their pants. Apparently he hadn't taught them enough, though. And this would be one of the last chances to rectify at least a few of the gaps in their education.

"You aren't to question me in front of others. Ever." General Monroe explained carefully. "And you aren't to question WHAT I do. But you should both ask - in private - why I do things, if you don't understand the reason. Which I don't think either of you do, in this case, do you?"

Evan shook his head. But it was Gina who spoke. "Why did you whip Aster? She was just trying to be nice to that woman. She didn't mean anything bad."

"She didn't mean anything bad, but she usurped my authority. I had to punish her, to show everyone else that *I* am in charge. Otherwise things would fall apart."

"You mean Aster would take over the Army?"

"No." Monroe shook his head. "She doesn't want that. And she isn't capable of it anyways. Which is why I can't let her usurp my authority. It would leave NO-ONE in charge. Which is why things would fall apart."

Evan thought about this: "What if she could lead the army, and tried to take it over?"

A good question. "I still wouldn't let her, and I would have had to punish her a lot worse. Possibly kill her. It's MY army. Someday, I hope, it will be a nation. One you two will rule. I won't let anyone take that away from you."

Gina asked: "How come you hung that man, then? Mister Black? The one who took the pictures. If he and Aster were both doing things to hurt the Army, shouldn't they have been punished the same?"

Monroe thought for a moment how to answer such a complex question. "There's a few reasons, and they are all very important. They are things you will need to think about someday, when you are older. The first one is... what other people in the Army think of them. Aster has had a ... strange life. A bad life in a lot of ways, but things have happened to her that people talk about."

"You mean like the Maestro bowing down to her?" Gina said.

"That's not exactly what happened, but yes." Their father confirmed. "The reality was pretty much nothing, but people tell stories about it. About her. Plus she did get those lights off, before the battle, and people talk about that, too. She's sort of a hero to them. Even though she isn't really a hero at all. I let people think that, because it's useful. It gives them something to admire and fight for. You'll understand, someday. But the point is, part of the reason I couldn't punish her too badly is because a lot of people like her. Or at least the stories about her. If I punished her too badly, it would make them angry with ME."

"She said you should have punished her even worse." Evan pointed out.

"She had her reasons for saying that." General Monroe said. "I don't even understand all of them myself. Someday, maybe, she might tell you two. Or maybe she won't. She's a hard nut to crack."

He popped a piece of bacon in his mouth, which still tasted good despite being cold, swallowed it, and went on. "The second reason I didn't punish her as badly as I did that man, are her REASONS for doing what she did. That man with the camera was doing things that he knew would hurt the Army, and he was doing them in order to hurt the Army. I know that the Maestro had his children here, the ones Aster is taking care of, but he was still trying to hurt the Army, even if it was to save them. That's why I had to hang him."

"Now, Aster..." He thought for a moment. "What she did possibly COULD have hurt the Army. Potentially. I don't think that woman, Sabarah, or any of them, are spies, but they COULD have been. The reason that only I can allow people into the Army, is to make sure that they aren't spies. I know I screwed up with that one man, but if anyone could decide who was allowed to join the Army, there would be a lot more screw ups. However, she didn't do it in order to hurt the Army, the way that man was taking pictures. She did it because she felt sorry for the Betties. I was easy on her, because her reasons were not really bad. That's another thing you need to remember, take into account the reasons why people do things, when deciding on their punishment. Someone doing something bad and knowing it is bad must be punished worse than someone who just makes a mistake, you understand? The person who makes a mistake is still loyal to you. Teach them NOT to make the same mistake, and they will be useful in the future. Whereas a dead man is of no use at all. No threat, mind you. But also no use. If you are going to be a ruler, you need to learn not to waste things, or people, that might be of use to you in the future."

"That's why adults are punished worse than really young kids, right?" Evan asked.

"Yes, but you still have to punish a child at least a little bit. Otherwise, how will they learn that they shouldn't do things wrong?"

The two children were quiet for a moment, then Gina asked: "I heard she drew her gun on some other members of the Army. Why didn't you punish her? She shouldn't have done that, should she? Even if they were going to do bad things to those women. The women were enemies. Not part of the Army."

Evan made a slight sneer at his younger sister. At ten, he was old enough to understand what rape was, but eight year old Gina was still naive about such matters. For how much longer, General Monroe didn't know. Probably not much longer, but he would not be around to see that length of time.

The general chose his words carefully. "Those people she pulled the gun on... were not following my orders. They were told to go lock the women up. Not to do bad things to them. When Aster pulled her gun on them, she was backing up my authority, not usurping it."

He pushed his plate away. "Gina, I want you to go sit in the barracks with the rest of the Army for a while. Have some more breakfast out there, if you like. I need to talk to Evan alone, for a bit."

"Awww!" Gina pouted. "You always talk to him and not to me. Just because he's a boy."

"Do as I say!" He snapped angrily. He didn't even look forward to what he had to say to Evan, the boy was only ten, but it had to be said. And when and if the time came, Evan could share it with his sister. Not that she would likely rule. He told her that, but the reality was that she would probably be married to whoever would be most useful as an ally for her brother. Still, he would teach her regardless. A well educated wife in the ear of a useful ally would be a good tool for her brother.

Monroe waited until he was sure that Gina was out of earshot, then turned to Evan. "Now, you're not going to like what I have to say, and you probably aren't going to like me much. But you need to hear it, it's something that may be of use to you, someday. The plain truth is - I wanted those soldiers to rape those women. That zookeeping bitch fucked that up for me, which is why I was glad when she gave me an excuse to punish her."

Evan looked only slightly uncomfortable with this. He knew his father was not a very nice man. Though it was what he had lived with his whole life, so accepted it as normal, and didn't really have any strong desire for anything better. "I don't understand why you would want that, and if you did want them to do that... then why didn't you just order them to rape the women? That way, Aster wouldn't have been able to stop them."

"It's about control." Monroe explained. "If you are going to rule, you need to know how to control people. I've written down a lot about this in my journals, but you might as well learn it now, as a few weeks from now. In this case, it's about guilt. Guilt is a rope we can all hang ourselves with. It's a very good means of controlling people. Get them to feel guilty, for something they did by following your cause, and you control them. They'll do ANYTHING for you after that."

Evan looked confused. "If they feel guilty for something they did for following you, wouldn't that make them leave you?"

"You'd think so, but that's not how it works." His father explains. "It's a trap, you see. A moral trap. People do not like to think of themselves as bad. They want to think of themselves as good, even if they do bad things. So, you get them to do something bad, and after that, you own them. Control them forever. Because they convince themselves that the bad thing was really somehow 'good' if they did it for a cause, like the Army of Darkness, that was 'good'. After that, they will insist that the Army of Darkness is 'good', no matter what, and you can get them to do ANYTHING, no matter how bad, after that. They won't be able to refuse. At least not most of them. If they refuse, then they first have to admit to themselves that the Army is bad, and that they are bad people who have done bad things for a bad Army. Most people can't admit that about themselves. They're not strong enough. So they are trapped. Beyond redemption. You own them."

He sighed. "Or you would have, if that damned Zookeeper hadn't screwed everything up. Now you're stuck in a more complicated situation. I don't know if that's better or worse, but it's going to be harder for you. Nothing I can do about it. I won't be around to. You'll just have to deal with it. Bide your time. You'll grow up, eventually."

"I still don't understand." Evan confessed. "Why didn't you just order them to rape the women, then? If you wanted them to be bad?"

"That's part of the moral trap." Monroe explained. "It has to be their own choice. Their own free will. Most people don't feel guilty about things they have no choice in. The Zookeeper might, but as I've told you, she's an odd one. Maybe a few other people. Wolfkiller, possibly. I'm not sure. But most people - if you order or force them to do something, they aren't going to feel guilt. They'll put it on you, not themselves. You won't control them, and most likely, they will probably turn on you first chance they get."

"If I'd been smarter, I should have guessed that she might interfere." Monroe confessed, as much to himself, as to his son. "She is a Zookeeper, after all. She damn well knows a cage when she sees one. And after what she's been through... living in one for so long... probably hates them with a passion."

But Evan was too young to understand what his father meant, and took his statement in a naively literal fashion. "How can she be a Zookeeper if she hates cages? Isn't that what Zookeepers do? Put animals in cages?"

"Yes." Monroe got up and patted his son on the shoulder. "Never you mind. You just remember what I told you, and think about it. In a few years, you might understand. Hopefully, the Zookeeper will help teach you to understand. I've arranged for several people to teach you and Gina... after I'm gone. You're going to learn how to fight, from the best men in my Army. And you're going to learn words from her. She's got a gift for it. It's wasted in her, but don't let it be wasted in you. Learn it. Use it. You can't fight a thousand men and force them to do what you want, but with the right words, you can CONVINCE them to do what you want, and you won't have to fight them. And you might not be able to. Like I told you, what the Zookeeper did... the very fact that she exists... has made things more complicated for you. It might be better, I don't know. But you're probably going to have a be... a better man than I am. I think you can be, and if that's all I manage to give to you, and if the Zookeeper helps you achieve it... maybe all this shit will be worth it."

For however long it lasts. Monroe thought to himself. He still didn't know what the hell the Zookeeping bitch was afraid of, but it couldn't be good. He intended to find out before long, however. Not that he was going to worry his son with it.

"Now, you go and get your sister. I want you packed and ready to go with me, within 30 minutes. I have special beds for you, with regular mattresses, instead of bunks like everyone else, inside one of the trucks. There's chests underneath with my journals, and the best of the treasures and weapons from we've taken. We're getting the hell out of this place. It's starting to feel a little... hot to me."

It was an order. Evan slid off his chair, and hurried to obey his father. He wiped a tear off his face. He couldn't let his father see weakness, or he would get a cuff from him. Still, he knew what was coming for his father, very soon now.

Meanwhile, Aster was packing her few belongings, and helping the two children she had informally adopted pack their things as well. Not that any of them had much. The children had little but the clothes on their backs and the improvised moccasins Aster had made for them out of cut up blankets. Since they were entitled to one small suitcase each (that being all there was room for in the crowded conditions they would be travelling in), Aster helped them stuff it with a mixture of dried fruits and nuts, with a strong admonishment that they were NOT to gorge themselves on it. They were both dangerously thin, and Aster did not even want them taking full meals yet, let alone stuffing themselves. But Aster wanted them to own the food. In these times, food was money. Should anything happen to Aster on the trip, a few dozen pounds of food might possibly get them taken in by someone else. When they finished packing, neither of them could lift the suitcases, but they had small wheels under them, and they were able to pull them, with some degree of difficulty. Maria did this, when Aster told her to. Struggling, but obeying and managing. So though she still did not speak, she at least could comprehend. Though Aster had no idea what she would do if she needed some sort of information from the girl. And she could all too easily envision numerous situations where she would NEED information from her. Such as a description of the symptoms of an illness. Or being informed of an injury. Or a plot against Aster herself, that the girl might have happened to overhear.

Aster had only a few more belongings than the two children. Most of what she was taking she had already put into her truck the previous night, and she wore her weapons on her body. Her gun on her right hip, a dagger on her left. Spare magazines along her back. She understood that there were two fresh sets of clothing, including (and she would be GLAD to get it) underwear in her size, and two Army uniforms, in the supplies that would be stacked outside her truck for her. Along with food, water, bedding, and the bucket that would be used for a toilet, and emptied out through a small hole in the bottom of the truck. Once the trip started, they were NOT going to be stopping for anything but dealing with obstructions and detours. The longer they were out there, the more of a hit of radiation they would be taking. In fact, they were going to be pulling doubles. At some point, another trailer would be fastened behind Aster's, and the driver would be taking turns with her, while she slept. She wasn't sure who that driver would be, and didn't care, so long as they kept quiet and didn't try to poke their nose inside her trailer. Aster was a bit nervous about pulling doubles. The Army had trained her to pull a single trailer, but not doubles. Though she understood it wasn't really significantly different, unless one needed to back up. Which she didn't think would be occurring very often. This trip was strictly one way, only, and As Fast As Possible. There would not be any going back.

After a little thought, Aster loaded her own suitcase with dried fruits, nuts, and jerky. She might as well grab it, while the grabbing was good. Not that it was much different than what was going to be on the truck, but in times of scarcity, humans developed a hoarding instint. She wished that there were toys she could take for the children. And possibly for herself. Aster might have been physically an adult, and suffered through things that nobody should have to, but the last vestiges of childhood still clung to her, like fog after a rain, and she still had an instinct to play. Even if it were just a few small toys. Some marbles she could roll around. Or a prism to look through. Or a ball to bounce.

She was twenty years old. She looked sixteen.