The politics of good and evil(Me and Pentagon)

[Pentagon]

"I am not throwing insults, I am pointing out a fault in your logic. You are currently refusing to optimize your current situation for the good of the millions of people I serve, simply because of your pride. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, especially when your desire is simply self-satisfaction at not working with me. I will not deny that I am prone to self-righteous at times, but you here have the opportunity to help me overcome the effects of such faults, among any other defects in my policy you see. As for what I did to you, I simply temporarily stopped you from using your powers. Any adverse effects you are feeling were not my intention, and for them I apologize."


Alistair returned his right hand to his pistol, and prepared to push the button in his left. 12 anti-personnel mines would not be good for his office, let alone his hearing, but at least he would not be attacked by a 'super heroine'. He went behind his desk and sat down, keen to leave the lines of effect of his countermeasures.

 

[StartingOver]

Tor let out a growl she wanted to really hurt him now.


"Asshole..." she took a few steps reaching his desk before the lights went out. She toppled forward her torso landing on his desk, her legs still touching the floor supporting her dead weight, form an outside prescriptive it seemed like she had just bent over his desk, but she was completely unconscious. Tor's power and Alistair's power decided to have a bar room brawl in Tor's mind and the girl had suffered for it. The winner was unclear, but Tor was for the future down and out, her eyes didn't even have time to fully close, as they started off blankly.

 

[Pentagon]

"Well. That was unexpected."


Alistair had an interesting conundrum to deal with. He wanted to continue talking to this girl, even though he seriously doubted she would ever engage him in the particular variety of discussion he desired. He really did not want all this power, he thought to himself, but the true validity of that statement was difficult to determine. Regardless, he was not going to give up power for the foreseeable future, not when he had so many things to do. Personal liberties needed to be increased, politicians needed to be bought, convinced or controlled, foreign policy needed to be altered, quaternary industry needed to be developed to a greater degree, the school system needed revision, and a million other issues all organized neatly into a ciphered document on his personal computer. Maybe, instead of encouraging her to talk about his individual policies, she could elaborate on him needing checks and balances. They may be able to craft something useful, and with Alistair's plans out of the cutthroat opening moves, with power having been established, maybe such a thing would be prudent. He was not sure what could be accomplished in that front that was not already achieved by the populace and his numerous subordinates [maybe he needed to reiterate his order to 'tell me every problem you have with my policies'. There had been fewer and fewer issues, which he was unwilling to accept was a result of his own actions].


All this needed to be balanced on the fact that she had just tried to kill him. By all accounts he had casus belli, but he never liked being retributive. Alistair figured he could just control her, shift her cognition to be willing to work with an autocrat, and give her the imperative to do no harm to his person, but was unsure. He reset the blocks on her powers, not just temporarily stopping her from activating them, but implanting a memory he guessed would last for a day or so, a though that told her that her powers had disappeared weeks ago. That should keep her conscious at least. He scraped her off the table and laid her limply on a sofa chair, the one in range of the majority of his precautions. He sat back at his table, checking his pistol for jams, and ensuring it was still loaded with an elephant gun caliber. It would break his wrist surely, and probably cause temporary hearing loss, but he doubted it would be too serious. He really should not be doing this, this is not the most optimal way of doing things, but for some reason he could not bring himself to dominate her. He swapped out his earplugs with thicker ones, and settled down to wait a spell.

 

[StartingOver]

Katie entered his office, she had a few papers in hand that she was meant to deliver at this time so it caught her off guard to see Alistair and Tor in the office.


"Oh no." she said as she set the papers down and tended to Tor checking the girl over. It was of great importance that the girl wasn't harmed.


"Sir you don't often ask or need my advice but may I give it on how to handle this girl, because ....I've done my homework on her, I really don't think she's just going to listen as is, but I have a few steps we can take to get what you want out of her."

 

[Pentagon]

"Ms. Turner, I am always happy to hear your advice. An educated opinion is always welcome here, I shouldn't need to tell you that."

 

[StartingOver]

"Well step one would be to call it a day today, I will put Miss Graves back under heavy sedation, keeping her under for lets say eighteen or nineteen hours. I will bath her and give her a fresh nightgown and undergarments. I request we put her in one of the nicer guest rooms. Step two would be to give her another dose of drugs, but this would be a cocktail that would keep her awake, but very relaxed and peaceful which would lead to step three. I understand you dislike using your power and I respect that, but I feel like it would be a help. I am not asking for a full reworking, more like placing her in a trance. Then you and I will just talk to her much like a child and try to strip away all her mistrust and her ideals. When she awakens she will be trusting of you and understand that you are not a monster like she thinks, but she will still be the same girl she is now. Then you will really talk to the smart and savvy girl we both know she is." Katie stood up and looked to him.


"Please sir I think this is the best course of action, if you don't do it I think that you'll either have to control her or kill her and that solves nothing, she can be a powerful allie let me make it happen."

 

[Pentagon]

"Altering her mind without her consent is what I am opposed to, not just using my gift. Us altering her psyche with narcotics and changing her mental state to be more receptive to our suggestions is no different than me placing an imperative in her to accomplish the same goal. I am reluctant to do so for hedonistic reasons. She will walk out of this building aligned to my stewardship of this nation, unless the impossible happens, which I certainly do hope it does. For some reason, I want to talk to the fool longer..."


Alistair dropped into thought for a second. What did he want, what did he have, and how could he use the second to get the first. He wanted to talk to Tor earnestly, without alteration. He wanted to do so not only to hear dissenting opinions but because he was truly fascinated with how a powered person thinks differently. He also wanted her to help him align her father to his cause, or at least make him accepting of his cabal while still wanting to enact changes. Every second he talked to her when she was against his control was another risk of her attempting to initiate violence, which would most likely result in either violence or the very change he was planning on making to help convince her father. The answer was obvious.


"Ms Turner, I am just going to alter her mind. I will implant in her mind the imperative to accept my current reasons for maintaining power. That will let her change her model of reality and let me know if there are alterations that need to be made to my control, and will also let her think for herself on what policy she wants to see enacted. I hate to do it, but to not do so is breaking more Rules than I wish to list here."


Alistair accepted the papers and dismissed his assistant, and enacted the change on Tor's mind that he meant to, leaving the temporary restrictions on her powers intact.

 

[StartingOver]

"Sir.... I... I think this is a mistake." Katie said softly. "You could get so much more if you gained her trust." She sighed though.


"At least pacafiy her sir for your own sake." Katie left the room.


Tor was left reeling from the ordeal in her head. She took to the changes perfectly as if that's how she really thought.

 

[Pentagon]

"I do not need or want trust, Ms. Turner. Trust leads to mistakes and negligence. No-one should trust me without question, and everything I do should be questioned. Sometimes, however, this is just not possible for some people without risking the good of society, so I must make the best of the situation, as with Ms. Graves here."

 

[StartingOver]

The hours passed bringing the day In to the afternoon as Tor slept. Finally a groans escaped her lips. She sat up holding her head and looked around.


"Where am I?" She looked confused as she looked around. It seemed her memory had failed her.

 

[Pentagon]

"My office, in the Grad, Ms. Graves. Are you feeling alright? Do you want me to get you something?"

 

[StartingOver]

Tor blinked a few times looking at Alistiar." I think I'm okay." She laid her head back down.


"Did I just fall asleep on you?" She blinked. Something was different about the man she was looking at. She felt giggdy almost... She loved the way he ran everything.


"Never mind... I must have fainted I just love everything you do." She gave a smile.

 

[Pentagon]

Alistair was confused. He didn't misuse his powers: the only thing he changed about her was making her accept his current position was necessary, nothing more. He assumed that she would be against his policies, afraid of changes, SOMETHING. And he certainly didn't expect her to be so amorous. Alistair was feeling rather uncomfortable. The situation would have to be reviewed. She was apparently aligned to him now, so that condition was clear. Her powers were under his control for the time being, and he could use her to not only discredit her father but to support his decentralization of the transportation system, or any other policies he needed her to back. Everything went better than predicted, and although his guilt at constraining another human mind was flaring up, he had to admit that utility had increased. After a pause, he managed to speak again.


"So, Ms. Graves, you have no criticisms of my policies? Nothing you would like changed or added? I warn you unconditional acceptance of policies not developed by yourself are often held on intellectually dishonest grounds."


He would tell OSI to observe her for messages left behind for her. He didn't think that she was careful enough to leave notes to herself regarding things she may be compelled not to think, and less so that those messages would be able to make her realize her compulsion or convince her to change her mind, assuming she would just see them as views that have shifted naturally, but it paid to be careful and OSI was less active that it could be now that power had been established.

 

[StartingOver]

"First I'd like to apologize sir, I was a real bitch to you. I don't know why?" She rubbed her head. "Truth is I alway liked what you did but for some reason it makes so much more sense to me now. " Tor gave a smile. "I don't actually agree with everything ,but that's normal. I sorta don't think the military needs attention now, it's already the best and certian races have earned special treatment in some regards and I wouldn't want things to change."

 

[Pentagon]

"No need to apologize. I understand completely. Why do you say that certain races deserve special treatment?"


He was hoping that his caution would not be misplaced. She would be highly useful unmasked as an empowered person, and he would have to refresh her blocks on her power until she was deemed to be unable to change her mind via failsafes.


Though, worst case scenario, she turned on him. She realized he put a block in her mind and acted on it. Her father was ruined if she took ostentatious action, and he had behind him a first-class intelligence organization more than capable of dealing with the subtle machinations of a young girl. It may even been worthwhile to bait her into taking action, though he would weigh those benefits like he planned later on, after the meeting during the watching for signs of failsafes. He really really needed to learn how she managed to discover his power.

 

[StartingOver]

"Not special treatment, just like Natives should be allowed certain things, because it was their land before settlers came and what not. Reservations should be kept under their own laws and what not, not everything can't be uniform." Tor sat up and gently folded her hands in her lap trying to appear as professional as she could.

 

[Pentagon]

"How long must descendants pay for the sins of their fathers? In our law courts, we do not hold the children of debtors accountable for the debts of the dead, and I would argue we should not. No-one in the current situation is at fault for the inequality of the situation, and therefore should not be held responsible in a material way. Every citizen in this nation has a right to life, liberty and property, and I am working tirelessly to ensure that everyone has that. If law on the reservations conflicts with that of the state, they will be changed: if they do not, they are free to do as they please."

 

[StartingOver]

"We did them wrong though sir, we did things that nobody can can explain or forgive." Tor said looking back.


"Letting them have these things won't hurt anything."

 

[Pentagon]

"We did not do anything. You did not force them to march, I did not gun them down, Joe Smith of Kentville did not deny them equal rights, and therefore, they should not be punished. You are free to do whatever you want with your property, but I will not allow the denial of the rights of innocent citizens. As for letting them have their own law, they are free to do so, as long as it does not violate federal jurisdiction. I will not stop them banning alcohol or allowing gambling, as long as the citizens have a choice in the matter and can leave if they choose. That is currently the case, minus a few exceptions, so the point is rather moot anyways. Letting a group of people ignore the laws due to previous tribulations has the possibility of hurting every person in that society, and stops the society at large from hurting itself."


He wished he had not tried to kill him. That had complicated matters, made him act without thinking things through. He wished he had not immediately resorted to controlling her, but was unsure what else he could have done. He was not truly worried, these were the situations that arose when one engaged in self-satisfying, sub-optimal practices like kidnapping someone to have a chat with them. Things had not turned out too poorly anyways. Her powers were completely his, once he reapplied the restrictions, and he may add a compulsion to not have her change her opinion based on things she previously wrote. He was fine if she managed to change her mind based on evidence gathered from now on, at least then he would learn things about how people thought and how he should change his policies or the public image of his policies.

 

[StartingOver]

"I guess your right sir, but I doesn't sit well with me." Tor gave a nod.


"Is this all you wanted to chat with me about?" she gave a smile and waited for him to answer.