A Short Essay by Mind Queen Shh-Ret
First Published in Roll Call: Magazine of the Uniformed Services in 3002, later repeated in editorial sections Zone-wide
I'm not sure why, but I've been asked to write this little article for... well... the slaughterers of my children. I'm sorry, but there's no other way I can put it--I understand that you believe in your goals and that if you were to simply disappear, the Great Mother [High Mind Empress - ed.] would simply counterattack and oppress your homes. I'm not trying to make anyone feel guilty, I'm only expressing my feelings just as I've been used to in the past.
This article is supposed to be about how we Reavers live and how we adapt to assimilation by the Weirdo Zone--it is also to explain, in passing, why I defected. The defection issue is arguably more important, so this is why: I was tired of the destruction. Your government (my government now?) always said that if we'd lay down our weapons and surrender that you would take us in and treat us well; I decided to test that. If you were true to your word, my children would finally be safe from the unstoppable machine of the Weirdo Zone. If you weren't, you would have a political backfire so fierce that maybe the peace movement I always heard about from inside your borders would finally get the upper hand and stop the aggression. Fortunately for everybody, your leaders were true to their words because they are honorable individuals who truly believe in the moral superiority of the Weirdo Zone.
Moralism and honor are sort of odd to us, as we have a single ideology and single "morality"--I suppose you would call it "utilitarianism"--that keeps the concept of moral superiority from actually meaning something to us. As for honor, ours is all based on familial responsibility. I've met several Weirdo Zone soldiers, and their camraderie and siblinghood is practically identical to our entire culture. Our only advantages is that our espirit de corps, as you put it, is universal throughout society and we are born with it. Think about that for a few moments. I know that you troopers disagree sometimes, but you also put aside your disagreements for the good of the unit. The whole of Reaver society is the same way. Sure, we have a "peace lobby," but we also understand that if we don't give our all for the war effort that we will be crushed.
When I explained this to one of the leaders of the Weirdo Zone peace lobby, she railed against me on how I and my people were unfaithful and undedicated to our beliefs. I tried to explain to her that although we actually did disagree with the Great Mother, we had to act the way we did because if we were to simply stop breeding Warriors and building weapons our empire would simply fall. I'm actually glad now that Major St'leka of this magazine asked me to write this, as I feel that you, who actually think as we do, will understand us better.
As for assimilation... it feels... lonely. The Weirdo Zone does not yet have the ability to selectively filter out our telepathic signals, and as they classify Mind Parasites as some sort of high-level biohazard, we all voluntarily went through through Aggregate Purge Treatment. I can honestly say it is not one of the more pleasant experiences in my thousand Terran-year life. So assimilation is lonely, not being in instantaneous contact with my relations, and being lonely has to be one of the worst feelings in the Universe. I wonder how you survive entire lifetimes with this sort of emptiness; but then again you're probably used to it.
Yes, the best solution for all parties involved is not assimilation of the Collective by the Weirdo Zone but is instead real, lasting peace. Hopefully I made the right decision; hopefully the Great Mother will be forced to negotiate now. If she doesn't... she's probably far too headstrong for anyone's good.
Weirdo Zone Military Services netdoc
WZ.702.211.L4.89KK
Published 1.27.3003