[thoughts]
One of my childsoldiers died yesterday. He was an old man, with a loving family and adopted children. I hadn't seen him in over thirty years, yet he still wanted me there. Strange.
I found his replacement outside the hotel I stayed in during the funeral. A blind little beggar girl who didn't believe me when I told her I could give her eyes that spit fire. She told me her father put out her eyes with acid one night in a drunken rage and doesn't mind the prospect of never having children of her own to harm.
I wonder if it is fair to give children a choice in such matters. Most of my childsoldiers had none - they were sold by their families or countries into this service. Yet the little girl at the foot of my bed will happily abandon the life she knows for the opportunities I offer. Which is more wrong - never being given a choice, or forcing a child to choose when they cannot understand the consequences?
I found his replacement outside the hotel I stayed in during the funeral. A blind little beggar girl who didn't believe me when I told her I could give her eyes that spit fire. She told me her father put out her eyes with acid one night in a drunken rage and doesn't mind the prospect of never having children of her own to harm.
I wonder if it is fair to give children a choice in such matters. Most of my childsoldiers had none - they were sold by their families or countries into this service. Yet the little girl at the foot of my bed will happily abandon the life she knows for the opportunities I offer. Which is more wrong - never being given a choice, or forcing a child to choose when they cannot understand the consequences?