#ahhhh self-aggrandizing war criminals

[wufflesvetinari]

If you would like to talk about another fic, consider this your encouragement to talk about 'strange decanter'

ehehehe my trap card has been activated, this is origfic. it's meant to be a short story or novella exploring a) "utopia" and its reliance on human psychology to actually do the right thing in extreme conditions, always, forever and b) spite re: the potential of season 1 of st:disco and gabriel lorca's whole entire deal

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He holds my gaze. “They’ll have questions for you as well.” 

“Of course. But they’ll understand our options were limited.”

His arm stills halfway to putting the bottle down. My stomach lurches; I’ve said the wrong thing.

But his voice remains gentle: like tempering the hopes of a child. “The Council weren’t on the ground with us, ██████. They may not understand the gravity of the situation.”

I can’t think of anything to say to that. My eyes slide to the wine pooled in the decanter’s tendrils. It’s left red streaks on the inside of the glass. 

Releases meant for the public cited unavoidable accidents: a quirk of the ionosphere making a one-time tactical hurricane into a hellish closed loop of atmospheric destruction. Or the enemy’s derangement virus loose in our tech, a force multiplier on the devastation. 

For all I know, most of it could be true. 

The General sighs and leans back in his chair. “It’s damn hard to maintain an Eden. Let conflict fester, refuse to face it, and you’ll bumble your way out of post-scarcity. Back to war and want and inequality.”

“Eden doesn’t sound like the right word for that kind of work.”

“Fair point. Eden is for innocents. We sift our impurities out manually.” He flicks the half-empty wine bottle. All the sediment is left over at its bottom, leaving the wine clear: the virtue of the decanter. “But you can’t deny we’ve come a long way from the barbarism of our ancestors. What else would you call a society started from seed?” He smiles wanly. “Utopia?”

In the ethics practicums, every child learns to think for the social good. How to ensure the rights of the minority and the will of the majority at once. How to recognize apologia for injustice and evil. 

How to become good. How to self-correct.

“Maybe Eden is a process,” I tell him.

The General laughs, startled into delight. He touches my wrist, then stands to get the wine glasses. “I hope not. That means you and I will never rest.”

#ahhhh self-aggrandizing war criminals #gaslight gatekeep lie on the stand #ask game #my writing