Peter Wiggin's Office, the Hegemony Compound, Thursday
It had been a rough but ultimately uplifting couple of months, as Peter's various armies and allies moved around the map, beating back Russian aggression and Indian strikes and no small amount of opportunists, trying to take a few square meters of land here and there in the confusion. Meanwhile, countries left and right were organising plebiscites; several had already joined Peter's FPE, and more would soon follow.
The war would not end soon - the map was too big, the pieces moving too chaotically outside of Peter's master plan. But they had broken one half of the war's spine during Han Tzu's humiliating defeat of the Russian forces, two months ago. And now they were about to break the other.
Virlomi.
"Suriyawong is about to begin the call, sir," Suzana said. She came bearing a can of Guarana in one hand and a pad in the other one. "You wanted to listen in?"
"Yes," Peter said. He sank back in his chair. "Hook me up. Let's hear what the lovers have to say to each other."
Her fingers hit a few buttons on the pad, and then he heard the crackle of an audio connection. He leaned forward.
SURIYAWONG: Virlomi. This is Suri. [pause] Can you hear me, Vir?
VIRLOMI: Yes.
S: I would rather capture these men. I don't want to spend the rest of the day killing them all.
V: Then stop.
S: They won't surrender while you're still fighting. They worship you. They're dying for you. Tell them to surrender, and let the survivors go home to their families when the war is over.
V: Tell Indians to surrender to Siamese?
S: Vir. They're dying for nothing. Save their lives.
There was a crackle, and then a snap. Virlomi had terminated the connection. Peter sighed, rubbing at his brow. "Is Suriyawong's wire still active?"
"Yes."
He heard nothing for a while. A few orders. Suri's footsteps in the grass.
And then suddenly, loudly, Virlomi's voice again.
V: So. This is your work.
S: No, Virlomi. It's yours.
V: Yes, I know.
S: Will you come with me to tell the other two armies to stop fighting? They'll only give up when you tell them to.
V: Yes. Now?
S: Phone them and see if they obey. If I try to lead you away right now, these soldiers will take up arms again to stop me. For some reason they still worship you.
V: In India we worship the Destroyer along with Vishnu and Brahma.
S: But I never knew that you served Shiva. [long silence] Aren't you going to ask about your husband?
V: What about him?
S: Are you so sure your Muslim co-conspirators killed him, then?
V: Nobody was going to kill him. They were only going to confine him until after the victory.
S: You spent this long fighting them, Vir, and you still don't understand them any better than that? This isn't a chess game. The person of the king is not sacred.
V: I never sought his death.
S: You took away his power. He tried to stop you from doing this and you plotted against your own husband. He was a better friend to India than you ever were.
V: You cannot say anything to me that's crueler than what I am now saying to myself.
S: The girl Virlomi, so brave, so wise. Does she still exist? Or has the goddess destroyed her too?
V: The goddess is gone. Only the fool, only the murderer remains.
[radio crackle]
S: Please come with me now, Virlomi. One army is surrendering, but the other shot the officer you telephoned when he tried to give the order. [long silence] What will you do now?
V: I'm your prisoner. What will you do?
S: You're Peter Wiggin's prisoner. Thailand has joined the Free People.
V: I'm sorry.
S: Sorry? Because my people will be free within their borders, and there'll be no more wars?
V: What about my people?
S: You're not going back to them.
V: How could I, even if you let me? How could I possibly face them?
S: I was hoping that you would face them. By vid. To help undo some of the damage you've done today.
V: What could I possibly say or do?
S: They still worship you. If you disappear now, if they never hear of you again, India will be ungovernable for a hundred years.
V: India has always been ungovernable.
S: Less governable than ever. But if you speak to them. If you tell them-
V: I will not tell them to surrender to yet another foreign power, not after they've been conquered and occupied by Chinese and then Muslims!
S: If you ask them to vote. To freely decide whether to live in peace, within the Free People-
V: And give Peter Wiggin the victory?
S: Why are you angry with Peter? What did he ever do but help you win your nation's freedom in every way that was possible to him? Peter Wiggin has the right of conquest. His troops destroyed your army in combat. He showed mercy he didn't have to show.
V: You showed mercy.
S: I followed Peter's instructions. He does not want any foreign occupiers in India. He wants the Muslims out. He wants only Indians to govern Indians. Joining the FPE means exactly that. A free India. But an India that doesn't need, and therefore doesn't have, a military.
V: A nation without an army is nothing. Any enemy can destroy them.
S: That's the Hegemon's work in the world. He destroys the aggressors, so peaceful nations can remain free. India was the aggressor. Under your leadership, India was the invader. Now, instead of punishing your people, he offers them freedom and protection, if they only give up their weapons. Isn't that Satyagraha, Vir? To give up what you once valued, because now you serve a greater good?
V: Now you teach me about Satyagraha?
S: Hear the arrogance in your voice, Vir. I teach you about Satyagraha because I lived it for years. Hiding myself utterly so that I would be the one Achilles trusted in the moment when I could betray him and save the world from him. I had no pride at the end of that. I had lived in filth and shame for ... forever. But Bean took me back and trusted me. And Peter Wiggin acted as if he had known all along who I really was. They accepted my sacrifice. Now I ask you, Vir, for your sacrifice. Your Satyagraha. Once you put everything on the altar of India. Then your pride nearly undid what you had accomplished. I ask you now, will you help your people live in peace, the only way that peace can be had in this world? By joining with the Free People of Earth?
V: Whatever will help my people live in peace, I'll do.
The line ended abruptly. As there were no panicked calls incoming a minute later about Suriyawong's sudden demise, Peter presumed he'd switched off his audio connection for personal reasons. It didn't matter. The important thing was that Virlomi had been secured, and her armies were standing down.
Well. Armies. It would be at least until after they got her to publicly endorse the FPE on camera before everyone in India considered standing down. But that was it.
Peter popped open his can of Guarana, or tried to. The tab broke and fell onto the ground. "Hundreds of years of experience making these, and yet..." he muttered, opening up his drawer. He reached past the unplayed record at the bottom of the drawer and found his pocket knife. He pried open the can. "Let's hope this isn't a metaphor."
[[ nfb, but can be open for phone calls etc. dialogue under the cut taken from shadow of the giant, yadda yadda. ]]
The war would not end soon - the map was too big, the pieces moving too chaotically outside of Peter's master plan. But they had broken one half of the war's spine during Han Tzu's humiliating defeat of the Russian forces, two months ago. And now they were about to break the other.
Virlomi.
"Suriyawong is about to begin the call, sir," Suzana said. She came bearing a can of Guarana in one hand and a pad in the other one. "You wanted to listen in?"
"Yes," Peter said. He sank back in his chair. "Hook me up. Let's hear what the lovers have to say to each other."
Her fingers hit a few buttons on the pad, and then he heard the crackle of an audio connection. He leaned forward.
SURIYAWONG: Virlomi. This is Suri. [pause] Can you hear me, Vir?
VIRLOMI: Yes.
S: I would rather capture these men. I don't want to spend the rest of the day killing them all.
V: Then stop.
S: They won't surrender while you're still fighting. They worship you. They're dying for you. Tell them to surrender, and let the survivors go home to their families when the war is over.
V: Tell Indians to surrender to Siamese?
S: Vir. They're dying for nothing. Save their lives.
There was a crackle, and then a snap. Virlomi had terminated the connection. Peter sighed, rubbing at his brow. "Is Suriyawong's wire still active?"
"Yes."
He heard nothing for a while. A few orders. Suri's footsteps in the grass.
And then suddenly, loudly, Virlomi's voice again.
V: So. This is your work.
S: No, Virlomi. It's yours.
V: Yes, I know.
S: Will you come with me to tell the other two armies to stop fighting? They'll only give up when you tell them to.
V: Yes. Now?
S: Phone them and see if they obey. If I try to lead you away right now, these soldiers will take up arms again to stop me. For some reason they still worship you.
V: In India we worship the Destroyer along with Vishnu and Brahma.
S: But I never knew that you served Shiva. [long silence] Aren't you going to ask about your husband?
V: What about him?
S: Are you so sure your Muslim co-conspirators killed him, then?
V: Nobody was going to kill him. They were only going to confine him until after the victory.
S: You spent this long fighting them, Vir, and you still don't understand them any better than that? This isn't a chess game. The person of the king is not sacred.
V: I never sought his death.
S: You took away his power. He tried to stop you from doing this and you plotted against your own husband. He was a better friend to India than you ever were.
V: You cannot say anything to me that's crueler than what I am now saying to myself.
S: The girl Virlomi, so brave, so wise. Does she still exist? Or has the goddess destroyed her too?
V: The goddess is gone. Only the fool, only the murderer remains.
[radio crackle]
S: Please come with me now, Virlomi. One army is surrendering, but the other shot the officer you telephoned when he tried to give the order. [long silence] What will you do now?
V: I'm your prisoner. What will you do?
S: You're Peter Wiggin's prisoner. Thailand has joined the Free People.
V: I'm sorry.
S: Sorry? Because my people will be free within their borders, and there'll be no more wars?
V: What about my people?
S: You're not going back to them.
V: How could I, even if you let me? How could I possibly face them?
S: I was hoping that you would face them. By vid. To help undo some of the damage you've done today.
V: What could I possibly say or do?
S: They still worship you. If you disappear now, if they never hear of you again, India will be ungovernable for a hundred years.
V: India has always been ungovernable.
S: Less governable than ever. But if you speak to them. If you tell them-
V: I will not tell them to surrender to yet another foreign power, not after they've been conquered and occupied by Chinese and then Muslims!
S: If you ask them to vote. To freely decide whether to live in peace, within the Free People-
V: And give Peter Wiggin the victory?
S: Why are you angry with Peter? What did he ever do but help you win your nation's freedom in every way that was possible to him? Peter Wiggin has the right of conquest. His troops destroyed your army in combat. He showed mercy he didn't have to show.
V: You showed mercy.
S: I followed Peter's instructions. He does not want any foreign occupiers in India. He wants the Muslims out. He wants only Indians to govern Indians. Joining the FPE means exactly that. A free India. But an India that doesn't need, and therefore doesn't have, a military.
V: A nation without an army is nothing. Any enemy can destroy them.
S: That's the Hegemon's work in the world. He destroys the aggressors, so peaceful nations can remain free. India was the aggressor. Under your leadership, India was the invader. Now, instead of punishing your people, he offers them freedom and protection, if they only give up their weapons. Isn't that Satyagraha, Vir? To give up what you once valued, because now you serve a greater good?
V: Now you teach me about Satyagraha?
S: Hear the arrogance in your voice, Vir. I teach you about Satyagraha because I lived it for years. Hiding myself utterly so that I would be the one Achilles trusted in the moment when I could betray him and save the world from him. I had no pride at the end of that. I had lived in filth and shame for ... forever. But Bean took me back and trusted me. And Peter Wiggin acted as if he had known all along who I really was. They accepted my sacrifice. Now I ask you, Vir, for your sacrifice. Your Satyagraha. Once you put everything on the altar of India. Then your pride nearly undid what you had accomplished. I ask you now, will you help your people live in peace, the only way that peace can be had in this world? By joining with the Free People of Earth?
V: Whatever will help my people live in peace, I'll do.
The line ended abruptly. As there were no panicked calls incoming a minute later about Suriyawong's sudden demise, Peter presumed he'd switched off his audio connection for personal reasons. It didn't matter. The important thing was that Virlomi had been secured, and her armies were standing down.
Well. Armies. It would be at least until after they got her to publicly endorse the FPE on camera before everyone in India considered standing down. But that was it.
Peter popped open his can of Guarana, or tried to. The tab broke and fell onto the ground. "Hundreds of years of experience making these, and yet..." he muttered, opening up his drawer. He reached past the unplayed record at the bottom of the drawer and found his pocket knife. He pried open the can. "Let's hope this isn't a metaphor."
[[ nfb, but can be open for phone calls etc. dialogue under the cut taken from shadow of the giant, yadda yadda. ]]