“The President says evil will always be a part of the world.
We can intervene, arrest, try, analyze, medicate, rehabilitate and execute. No
smart person is saying you can't do anything about any of the evil in the
world. The President and I both recognize evil, and what you can do about it,
which is why he hired me.
“Evil will persist, because it's a part of us, and its
causes are so often so easy. That's where I come in. Where you can't eradicate
it, socially and chemically, legally and ethically, I will dig my hole. I will
dig deep and long, and erect walls thick and unyielding, and wrap their bonds
around the vile. They will not see daylight or innocents. It will be my life's
last work. The President’s work is to send as few souls to me as he can. My
hope is that you will keep him honest.”
Bit sexual. ...I'm into it.
ReplyDeleteAn almost threatening conversation... Not a person I would like to have assessing my character or lack thereof.
ReplyDeleteHrm, yeah. The Papacy tried out centralised evil-purging with the Inquisition and the witch-trials. It didn't work out so well for them -- especially since the book that instigated the witch trials was published with a forged approval document in the first place. Which means, in effect, that the two men who wrote the Hammer of the Witches successfully contested the power of the Pope, at least one this one issue. Keeping the Pope/President honest would have done little to rectify that situation.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things that makes this such an effective piece for me is that not once did you mention "law". What a fascinating omission.