‘It’s high time me and him had a heart-to-hart about this. I want to understand how he thinks. Do U no ware hee iz?’
‘I think he went over that way.’
So the two set off to look for Paul. A few of Onk!’s men followed them. Soon they found Paul trying to make a fire under a grove of trees.
‘Hey, Pol,’ Onk! said and swung a light rifle into frame.
Everyone froze...where does he get this stuff?
‘Hey, Onk,’ said Paul, watching the rifle.
‘Alburt, I want to explain a little more of my idea for you and Paul. See, I want everyone to volunteer to join my little team. I think pretty much everyone will. We’ll be completely democratic. Even though I’ll be the leeder--as in, the one who got this thing together--I’ll be shur to nominayt someone that could argyoo uhginst any desishun I suggest, because I don’t want to be king. I don’t want to be king, Albert. I want to make a governance that is free from the corruption of the one we just left. Government in and of itself isn’t bad--ours is just broken, run by career politicians and speshul intrist groops. But now we have a chance to choose an alternative. It’s up to all of us to create this ideal, transparent government. So everything will be decided by majority vote, and everyone votes. Everyone gets a say. And I’ll step down as whatever I am at a set time--like a year or so, and you’ll never hear from me again. I’ll be on the sidelines. I don’t want power, I just want a healthy sosyighuhtee.
‘However, thair may be some peepl who don’t want to join my little government. Our little government. Theez people, in my mind, are very dainjerus to everyone. They are outside of any sort of code, and they may be able to easily overtake us, the peaceful nation within and outside a nation, with violence--raids upon the camp, a war. I don’t want a war, Albert. Paul. Therefour, I need to get rid of any who may be able to organize any movement against this peaceful government. Anyone who may be interested in not having a government around. Nip it in the bud, you know.’
‘Exile?’ Albert hoped.
Onk! smiled. ‘What good is exile, Albert?’
‘{(!!!!!)<[dO*]*>(????)}’
‘I do mean to kill them, Albert. Whoever poses that threat,’ Onk! said as he turned to Paul. ‘Now, Albert, I said you’d have to chip in. It’s time to make your decision to be with me.’ Albert was not unattractive. ‘You have a simple choice: be free with me, or be free with your friend Paul, here. Being free with me means you’re going to have to kill him. Sorry, but that’s the way it is. Being free with him means someone else is going to have to kill him and you after him. Easy, right?’
Onk! gave Albert the rifle.
Albert took the rifle and curled his fingers around the barrel and stock. He looked at Paul for any clue as to how to get out of this situation. Frankly, Albert saw no good alternatives. As Onk! had said, it was a very simple choice, and there were no loopholes that Albert could detect. It was either him or Paul. Of course, the implications of this were overwhelming. Onk! was offering peace at the price of murder, a society that would appear to be freedom-loving that was based on ruthless and strategic acts of terror. Even if Albert chose to kill his friend Paul in cold blood for the worst possible reason, would he want to live in this society Onk! was building? A society built on hypocrisy and deceit? And the worst kind of deceit at that--lying to yourself. Albert tried to tell Onk! earlier that he didn’t like making hasty decisions.
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