Truth let his thoughts drift for a minute. Should he ‘fix’ Niles? He probably could with Cup and Knife. He was actually a little scared to try. Not because he thought he would hurt Niles… or whatever his real name was… but because he had a horrible suspicion that it wouldn’t work. In a rather dark way, he had given Niles a ‘revelation’ and set him on a holy path. Now, does that sound like something that needed fixing?

Slavery? What’s slavery to an angel?

The next question was, how does he make things worse so they can be better later?

“Over the coming weeks, I expect to see a number of high level people making seemingly random moves. Some starting social programmes, others recruiting Level Zero kids for a variety of purposes. There will be a lot of seemingly random murders of high ranking officials and wealthy people. This will be in addition to the war.”

“My Lord?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Truth waved his hand to move away from the topic, then reconsidered and forced himself to answer. “Actually, do worry about it. I am bullying a lot of very powerful, very ruthless people. I am telling them that if they do things that will please me, I will let them run off-world after I kill Starbrite.”

“You are going to kill Starbrite? My Lord, is that even possible?”

“Yes. Difficult, but yes.”

“You sound so certain.”

“I am.” He really was too. There was something… a momentum that had been slowly gathering his whole life. It was coming to a head, now. It was up to him to decide how to use that momentum. At least, he hoped it was.

Wasn’t that what Nag Hammadi had said? Free will is a logical impossibility, but life is miserable if you don’t have it, so act like you do and enjoy the ride. Well, the gossipy statue had said something to that effect.

Niles was clearly struggling to process the notion of killing Starbrite. Character assassination was apparently doable. The bloody-blades variety was a mental stretch.

“Niles… I don’t know if you are still capable of wondering this, but have you ever wondered how it is possible for me to do what I do? Take, for example, getting you this job. You met Susan, right?”

“Ms. Anakdaughter? Yes, certainly. Several times. She asks after you, my Lord.”

“I’ll see her next. Now, does she strike you as a person lacking in spine?”

“Certainly not.”

“Brains?”

“She is quite intelligent.”

“Ruthless?”

“Very.”

“And yet I got her to hand over the CEO position in one brief meeting.”

Niles said nothing. He hadn’t been asked a question, of course.

“It’s because of two things- I am capable, and I dare. You need both, of course, but you would be astounded at how far daring alone takes you. Just the sheer willingness to step up and say “I can do it,” even if common sense says you can’t. I targeted Megashroom out of pure spite, removed the previous administration, ran down Susan and would have murdered her had she not yielded. I didn’t know she existed an hour before I had my sword buried in her gut.”

Niles was looking a little lost, and a little scared. Good.

“Niles, I dared. I dared to vent my hate. I dared to take over the company just because I wanted to. I dared to track down the owner and, niceties be damned, flat out rob an entire company from them. I had the confidence because I am capable, but most people simply do not think that way. I need you to focus on this point. Most people do not think like this. You are included in that ‘most people.’”

Niles awkwardly nodded.

“Common sense exists for a good reason. People settle around a sort of average behavior, and so long as nobody strays out of line, everything is more or less fine. But the people who do step out of line? They are either destroyed, or they rule the obedient ones. They do whatever the Hell they want, and nobody says a damn thing because they are scared. If a person is willing to break the common sense so much, what else will they do? And because humans are envious creatures, when they see someone who goes around doing what they want, they suck up. They try to imitate the behavior. They ask him what they can do to be like him, or what they can do to bask in his glory.”

Niles went still, processing. Slowly, he said- “They rewrite their common sense to allow for that specific person to act outside the norm.”

“It’s just the way the world is. What can you do about it? That man clearly doesn’t give a damn about morals or the law. He would destroy you if you tried to do anything, so don’t even try. It’s just common sense.” Truth said softly. “One man tells another to kill a stranger. If he does not, he will be killed or imprisoned for life. One man tells another ‘You won’t have to worry about your store getting robbed if you pay your protection money every month.’”

“A gangster or a politician.”

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“Not very different. Really a question of scale and intent, I suppose.”

“As you say, my Lord.”

“Daring and capability. Have those two things, and you can achieve the seemingly impossible. So what’s the necessary third component for us?” Truth eased off a little, but kept pushing.

“Intent.” Niles had caught the hint.

“Strange as it sounds, yes. Morality. Honest to whoever morals. Ethics too.”

Niles became silent. Truth let the moment stretch.

“Truthfully, my Lord, I don’t know what morals and ethics you subscribe to. You seem to follow no law but your own heart.”

Truth laughed softly. “Well, that’s accurate enough. I don’t know that I have a coherent anything. But we can make one for Megashroom.”

“Ah. The corporation given conscience.”

“Exactly. Good turn of phrase, by the way.”

Niles beamed. Then frowned. Then smiled again.

“My Lord, I have a… daring idea. Am I correct in assuming you don’t care if this business makes a profit?”

“Not a financial profit, at any rate.”

“Well… what if we took it a step further and made Megashroom an actual cult? More accurately a lay religious order.”

“Seems like a leap. Say more.”

“We would be building off the existing theology of the Praegerite Church. We emphasize what we have always done- the networks, the indoctrination, the constant pressure to raise money any way they can. But what we do is we say that our commitment to Jeon is so great, we need to support the homefront. We need to build a spiritual bastion against the forces of evil. And since prosperity equals proof of virtue-”

“We need that cash. Not really moving things past where they already are, though.” Truth was skeptical.

“No, this is actually a fairly big change. Right now, our network of Representatives only talk about Megashroom- how to earn from it, and how it’s been such a wonderful force in their lives. However, the number of people who consider being a Megashroom Representative their full time occupation is a distinct minority. Bluntly, they need other work if they intend to survive.”

“Yes…?”

“A religious fraternity can form a solid basis for networking. We can present it as a way to get a social leg up. Especially since we will need volunteers to run drives and events, committees to organize things, and other opportunities to get to know other useful people. And since they are effectively co-religionists, there will be a high degree of mutual trust.”

Hmm. Didn’t Jember say he joined a mystery cult for the networking? Niles might be on to something. Truth nodded slightly.

“Also helps speed up the othering of non-adherents. Mutate that shame into pride.”

“I don’t think the shame will ever be completely gone, but that’s not a bad thing, my Lord. It will encourage them to stick together and feel righteous.”

“Alright, that can work. Here’s the doctrine I want going out- Mutual Support. The individual thrives when the network thrives. People who are part of the MegaShroom family are smarter, more entrepreneurial, richer, prettier, more moral than people who aren't. And to prove that, Megashroom is going to organize very regular events where members teach first aid without the need for rationed talismans. They teach people how to plant their own herb and vegetable gardens. How to do simple handcrafts and the basics of construction without magic.”

Truth took a deep breath. “Summer time. Lots of kids about to go on vacation, lots of parents needing someone to keep an eye on the kids while they work. It’s no notice at all, but, summer camps. Indoctrinate, indoctrinate, indoctrinate. Keep the kids learning skills they can use in a no-magic environment, keep them doing activities that require teamwork to succeed, consistently reward selfless behavior and punish selfish behavior.”

“I think I see. Why the emphasis on no magic? I recall that when I went to camp, we did classes on basic magical theory, made spell bowls or our own insect repelling charms, that sort of thing.”

Truth blinked, then blinked again. “You… have noticed the sudden decline in available magic, right? The sudden magical voids that destroy apertures and buildings alike? The way talismans are so much less reliable these days?”

“Naturally, my Lord, but the sunspot activity is expected to peak later this year, and things will return to normal by winter.” Niles sounded honestly confused.

Truth shot the succubae a dirty look, but knew what they would say if he called them out. He looked down at Niles and tried to think of the nicest way to announce the imminent end of the world.

Niles was understandably quiet after Truth laid it all out. He could see the dots connecting behind Niles’ eyes. Things that hadn’t been clear before, moves by companies and countries that had seemed senseless. Why Truth was bothering with all of this.

“You are preparing them for the world to come. All of them you can reach.”

“Yes. And while you don’t need the details, it weakens Starbrite significantly in the meantime.”

“A world where every adult, or almost every adult, is dead or crippled.”

“More Level Zero adults these days than I care to think about, but yes. Also the Anak family and a few others won’t be particularly affected. Still, you have the right idea.”

“And everyone knows.”

“Above a certain level, yes. For years now. Decades, even.”

“So… it was all worthless.”

“What was?” Truth’s voice was soft.

“My life before I met you. All of it. The studying. The worrying about disappointing my family. The whole damn City Below!”

“Oh. Because it would all get wiped away in a few years?”

“Yes!”

“Nah.”

That got a startled look from Niles. “Pardon, my Lord?”

“It wasn’t worthless or pointless. You were living your life. That’s all anyone can do, really. How long that life lasts… really isn’t up to us, I think. Nothing really means anything in the end, or everything ‘means’ equally. Either way, it’s not something we get to decide. Our opinion of our importance to the world, the world’s opinion of us? It all just blurs into eternity. Makes no sense to worry about it. You just have to live, and take what joy and satisfaction you can along the way.”

“An… idiosyncratic position for someone considering founding their own religious order, if I may say, my Lord.”

Truth smiled. He had received so many blessings and revelations. One of those revelations was that it was no use telling people that they lived in illusion. Until they had seen it for themselves, it was just meaningless words. All he could do was prepare them. One day, if they chose, they could look beyond the shadows on the rock and see the real world. But it would be their choice. He couldn’t make them see.