Page 90 of Light Leech
He let out an airy laugh and placed his arms akimbo. “That’s an awful one to draw.”
“You’re telling me.” I shoved him.
“What was that for?”
“Hate. It’s the only way to win this game. And you know what this game is, right?”
“A game to see who can convince whom.”
“Nah, that’s on the outside. They want to pit us against each other. Hate. They want competition, so give it to them. It’s the same as the world outside.”
“What do you mean?”
“What do you do for work?”
“Marketing strategy for Safe Strive.”
“Selling health insurance, huh? Am I wrong to assume that you’re pro-neo-capitalocracy?”
He scoffed. “Of course I am. Without the Pharma party at the top, my job is worthless.”
“How do you feel when protesters tell you you’re ruining their nation by exploiting lower color districts.”
“They’re idiots.”
“What about when they tell you the party you work for brought war and created an unnecessary hatred for Arabasians?”
“It’s not like that–”
“I know it’s not your fault, but they still believe it and scream it, don’t they?”
Zhu whispered. “His wife left him for taking the job.”
I tried not to smile at the revealed advantage.
“Well–”
“Did you lose anyone close to you when you took your position?”
His jaw tightened. He nodded after a brief pause.
“All because you chose to hate Arabasians. Before you reject that, I know it’s not true. They still say it, don’t they?”
He nodded.
“And what do your efforts bring? Huh? Arguments? Hatred for political choices that they push on you for living a certain way. I get you. People like you have no hatred towards Arabasia, do you?”
I prayed he wasn’t a racist.
He nodded.
“But they’ll push that on you. Hatred will keep those divisions present when a compromise can’t be reached. Hatred is peace. You see? That is what they want us to understand. That is the point of this game. As scholars, the world will reject us and spit on us for the truth we pursue because it does not align with their ideal reality. Compromises are dead. The world is a market in which we can be the victors or the exploited. So would you rather lose by listening to their idiocy or leave them behind by simple hatred?”
“I… I guess hatred?”
“Hatred is peace.”
The battle he fought behind his eyes no longer mattered. His gaze went dead and his blissful smile was that of a fool understanding yet another soothing lie.
