Chapter 591 (1/2)
It is a citizen’s duty to view those who hold their lives as high walls before the ferocity and chaos of nature as commendable and virtuous. It follows, then that those who may more triumphantly innoculate humanity from any and all savage Systems deserve further praise. The organic conclusion we come to is that heroism of any one person, due to history and circumstances, shines thusly because it must be so. But that oh so desirable light occasionally ascends to a degree that it becomes so eye-catching that the viewers find their eyes blinded. Without outside assistance, these figures become naught but form and vehemence to the populous, without the structure and shape of a true and flawed human, a category to which we all must admit our own belonging.
The Founding of the Chivalric Orders, (the proposed initial five being the Order Valorem, the Order Ferocitas, the Order Sapientia, the Order Fide, and the Order Ducis), attempts to rectify the shapeless blindness.
Law grips firm edges. Without definition, the application of law will only damage and restrict. And it is anathema to our considered vision of law that any figure, no matter how influential or unique, can justifiably claim to be immune to the law’s effects or operate beyond the reach of this nation’s honorable people.
To that end, let the Chivalric Orders be an encouraged reformation of roles, that no figure of heroism will be found lacking in the possession of legitimate levers of influence with which to grasp…
“What are humans?” Jeremy asked.
Tessa looked up from a letter she was working up the nerve to send to Mrs. Hamilton. She blinked and then decided that this question annoyed her. “What do you mean?”
“Well that’s the crux of the issue, isn’t it?” Jeremy said, scratching his head. “What constitutes a human. Are these people-”
“Humans…. Well, humans are people. I guess. I guess the best way to check if something is …. Well shit. Maybe it’s to see... The best check is if it can recognize other humans. The indelible quality of man is a distinct and desirable flavor of considered intelligence and restrained savagery. Most notably, each possesses an intellect of such power that none may pass near to each other without feeling the warm radiation of wit from the eyes of even a stranger. Humans are those who have the capacity to recognize the humanity in another.”
Jeremy rolled his eyes. “Don’t talk hipfire flowery language with me. Humans are beings that recognize other humans? What a bunch of theoretical shit. You realize that such a definition would indicate that the monster people are more human than the unhappy populous around them, who steadfastly refuse to treat them as anything but a threat?”
Shaking her head, Tessa ignored Jeremy and turned back to her letter. She needed to send this today before they got off the Manatech railway and hoofed it the rest of the way North. Even though this was her first time being outside of the Zone, she didn’t have time to enjoy the sights.
She had a grand plan, and she knew that Randidly would not sit around and wait for her ideas to catch up with him. If she was going to pull off what she intended, her ideas needed to spread, and quickly. There was no time to waste.
****
Randidly’s second visit of the day went a lot better than the first. The Jade Prince seemed similarly prepared for his arrival but answered all of Randidly’s questions in a satisfactory manner. In fact, Randidly quiet liked the young man; it truly seemed that the guy simply wanted to be left alone to pursue the pinnacle of martial arts. His impression was not one of someone who would struggle politically.
Now with the outside influences dealt with, and in possession of the spawning apparatus for monsters, Randidly considered his next move. At some point, he would need to reunite with Neveah. They no longer really needed to operate separately, although he expected that she would choose to. Randidly also wanted time to digest his new Skill and the Skill Levels he had gained in the last week or so, but even thinking about doing it right now drove a knife of hot anxiety into his gut. There just seemed to be so many more things he needed to address.
Randidly pressed his eyes closed and let most of the sensations of the world fade away. Thunder crawled slowly overhead, grinding with loud groans at the clouds. A soft rain was falling, leaving tiny pinpricks of light against his skin. Randidly stayed that way for almost ten minutes, savoring the peace of nature.
Then his eyes snapped open. He would need to disperse these monster spawners at some point, but Lucretia was already trying to figure out a way to “unlock” them from a fixed destination. It would be much easier if he could just return the Zone to normal. But that wasn’t something he could do much about now. Instead, he needed to deal with the last half of a dangling loose end.
He needed to construct a body for Ghost that had some insurance that he would remain focused on the best interests of the people here.
For that, he needed to return to his steel shanty town.