Death has Come Part 4: Truth and Power:
You pondered the Emperor's question carefully, weighing each thought as though forging steel in your mind's fire.
"Do you believe the barbarians can be defeated? Do you believe that I can simply expel them if I had that so-called rifle you speak of?"
It was not a simple question, and so it did not warrant a simple answer. A weapon,like any tool, was only as strong as the hands that wielded it. A plow, a hammer, a firearm... each had its purpose, but none acted of their own accord. A rifle, no matter how advanced, could not single-handedly change the tides of history.
And yet, that very truth led you to your answer.
You exhaled slowly and then spoke with unshaken certainty. "No."
The word was a spark that set the room ablaze. The hush that followed was thick, suffocating, as though you had drawn a blade against the very air itself. Eyes widened. Murmurs spread like ripples through a still pond.
But the Emperor? He was neither shocked nor insulted. His gaze remained fixed upon you, filled with something other than anger, curiosity. Expectation.
"Expand."
You swallowed, gathering your thoughts. The answer lay in the ledgers and books your father had studied, the catalogs of foreign weapons, the sheer overwhelming proof of what lay beyond Japan's shores. The weapons of the barbarians were not just tools, they were symbols of something greater.
"Because we are not merely fighting a physical force," you said, voice steady. "We are fighting an idea."
A deeper stillness fell over the court. Even those who had been whispering now turned their full attention to you.
"And you and your council wish to fight not only the barbarians in a force of arms we know that even with all the power of their technology, we recreate, we will lose…"
"Defeatist!" someone spat.
"Treasonous words!" another hissed. The court erupted into angry voices, their fury rising like a tide ready to drown you.
And yet, the Emperor merely lifted his hand.
Silence returned as swiftly as it had broken.
"You speak like one who has studied the world," he mused, eyes unreadable. "Yet you are no noble. You have never left this country. You have never even spoken to a foreigner." A pause, measured. "And yet… You attempted to give me council when I had nothing but the greatest minds in all of Japan. You A Child knows better then all the great men of my court?"
That made you smirk. Something he did not really understand from you. "You asked for the truth. And honesty. My father taught me to always give honest council when asked. If nothing else. As for my knowledge. all I have is what I gained from reading and listening to my father. Nothing more."
"He should have also told you… that sometimes the truth must be cloaked in a web of lies." The Emperor then raised his hand. "You will leave. And I pray that we will never meet again. Because you speak of something, but have no knowledge of it. And any words you say, must be seen as the same. You know nothing of the world. You know nothing of how it is changing."
You had more to say, but than the Emperor waved. "You may stay the night, while we gather payment for services rendered. But you will leave."
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You were quartered in a place, a room that was so big and large, that it was impossible to not feel small. Miriko and Makoto both were trying to sleep, and eat, and you were trying to think.
Yet you couldn't see that someone else was in the room with you, entering quietly as he than sat down by the door. You didn't want him there. "Leave." You ordered.
But he did not leave. "Where did you learn all this?"
This… was not what you wanted. "Paying attention to the world, listening to my elders when it was necessary, and reading. Like all wise people do." And more then a little bit of trial and error.
And listening to your father. He was wiser than anyone you had ever known. Greater than any sage that could ever be alive. Yet the boy who was here was interested. "What else were you going to say?"
That made you smile. "That if we continue on our path… we may not see a future of our own design."
Again, quoting father. "What do you hope to see?"
"I don't know." He replied. "But.., My tutors keep telling me-"
He lived here, how quaint.
"-yet, I have… wondered about what will happen to Japan, and who will lead it."
Something in your mind told you one thing. He wanted an answer.
Who should lead Japan?
Who should:
[]The Emperor.
[]The Shogun
[]The People
[]Write in
AN: enjoy.
